Does your little one love drawing things on paper? Or maybe you’ve noticed that their drawings are pretty good for their age? If so, then you might have a genius on your hands, as a new study has found that children who draw well, grow up to be smarter!
Children who draw well grow up smarter!
It’s always a good idea to encourage creativity and a love of the arts in your child!
Psychologists from King’s College London have found that artistic ability early on in life, is a good indicator of intelligence later on.
They shared that children who were able to draw the human form accurately, tend to be more intelligent when they grew up.
The researchers studied pictures of over 15,000 4-year-old kids. A decade later, they noticed that the ones who scored higher in tests were the children who drew with the most skill.
“Our results show that there is a link between the ability to draw at the age of four and intelligence later in life,” shared Dr. Rosalind Arden from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London.
“This capacity to reproduce figures is a uniquely human ability and a sign of cognitive ability, in a similar way to writing, which transformed the human species’ ability to store information and build a civilisation.
She adds, ‘But this does not mean parents need to worry. It is really important that parents do not think, “Oh no, my child is terrible at drawing, they will be flipping burgers for the rest of their life.”
However, she made it clear that children who draw well aren’t the only ones capable of being intelligent.
“Drawing ability does not determine intelligence. The findings show there is a link, but it is only a moderate link,” she shared.
How can mums and dads make sure their kids grow up smart?
All mums and dads want their kids to grow up healthy and smart. That’s why we listed down some tips to help you develop your child’s intelligence!
- Talk to your child often. Conversing with your child helps develop the language centers in their brain and encourages them to think and to respond in kind.
- Read books aloud to them. If your child can’t read just yet, then it’s a good idea to point to the words in the book as you’re reading aloud to them. This helps their brain recognize the letters and associate it with the sounds.
- Use math in your daily conversations. Try to introduce to them the concept of numbers, counting, addition, subtraction etc. They don’t need to get it right the first time, but make sure to be consistent and make it familiar to them.
- Let them solve problems on their own. Problem-solving is a skill that’s important to your child, especially when they grow up. Try not to do everything for them, and let your kids figure things out by themselves.
- Encourage creativity through art. Let your child draw, sketch, sing, dance, or pursue any form of art they want to. Encourage them to explore their creativity and to think outside the box.
- Challenge their memory. Ask your child questions, such as what they ate for breakfast, or what the color of their clothes are. This helps develop their memory and will make it easier for them to remember things.
Source: Psychological Science
READ: Older dads have smarter sons, says study
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore