Students with average grades can still hope to get into university if they study hard, but it’s challenging to progress further, especially into top-tier institutions. Hard work alone isn’t enough; IQ and talent are necessary prerequisites.
However, when it comes to “talent and IQ,” the initial reaction of many parents is that these are determined by genetics and are difficult to change through human effort.
Professor Richard of Harvard University specializes in child behavior research. He once led a long-term study on brain development in children from birth to 18 years old.
The results showed that children’s IQ is not fixed at birth. Environment and education can promote intelligence improvement.
However, this improvement is only effective within a limited time frame. If this window of opportunity is missed, it becomes almost impossible to make up for lost ground.
Therefore, parents should pay attention, seize this opportunity, and make every effort to enhance their children’s IQ.
Ages 0-3: The “Golden Window” for Brain Development
Xing Guogang, deputy director of the Institute of Neuroscience at Peking University, once said, “The most important ‘Golden Window’ for human brain development is the first 1,000 days of life, when the brain develops rapidly, and the formation and ‘pruning’ of neural connections occur most actively.”
The reason why ages 0-3 are considered the “Golden Window” for brain development is mainly due to three significant changes the brain undergoes during this period.
First, the change in brain weight and volume: 25% → 85%. Scientific studies on the brain have found that the adult brain weighs approximately 1100 grams, with a volume typically ranging from 1350 to 1500 cubic centimeters.
At birth, the brain volume is relatively small, around 350-400 cubic centimeters, and weighs only about 800 grams, accounting for about 25% of the adult brain.
However, by the age of three, brain volume increases rapidly to 1100-1200 cubic centimeters, and weight rises to approximately 1100 grams, constituting about 85% of the adult brain.
Second, the number of neural connections and pruning: 50 trillion → 200 trillion. The density of neural synapses in a newborn’s brain is quite low, approximately 50 trillion.
But between the ages of 0 and 3, the brain can form up to 700-1000 neural connections per second. During this phase, the number of synapses between neurons increases rapidly and peaks at around 200 trillion when the child turns three.
Lastly, the cerebral cortex, with its “grooves and folds,” transitions from a simple to a complex state. The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain, where neurons gather and perform essential functions.
At birth, the initial “grooves and folds” on the cerebral cortex are already formed. Still, compared to adults, they are relatively simple and not yet deep enough.
However, by the age of three, the “grooves and folds” on the cerebral cortex increase, the number of neurons and their connections become more complex and intricate, marking a crucial stage in brain development.
How to Seize the “Golden Window” to Enhance Your Child’s Intelligence
Provide adequate nutrition: Before the age of three, the brain consumes the most energy among all organs, and 50%-75% of the energy that children absorb from food will be utilized by the brain.
Consequently, if children do not receive sufficient nutrition during this period, the first thing affected will be the normal development of the brain’s structure and function.
Create a rich language environment: The higher the number of languages a child hears from their parents or caregivers before the age of three, the higher their IQ tends to be.
Therefore, parents should communicate more and enrich their child’s language environment.
Encourage sports and games: Exercise provides the brain with more oxygen and blood, increasing the number of neurons in the hippocampus and the thickness of the cerebral cortex, making it a “smart drug” for the brain.
From birth, infants can perform a series of gross motor skills such as sitting, crawling, walking, and running, as well as fine motor skills like grasping and pinching. All of these are achieved through continuous movements and games that promote neural connections in the brain and improve brain function.
The quality of these movements directly impacts the maturity of brain development.
Ages 3-6: The “Silver Window” of Brain Development
First, neural synapses begin to be “pruned.” Scientific research on the brain has discovered that the change in synapse density in the human brain after birth follows an inverted U-shaped curve.
This means that synapse density in the brain reaches a peak and then gradually declines.
The peak of this curve is the aforementioned 200 trillion synapses at the age of three.
After a child turns three, the brain starts to self-regulate, similar to how a bustling city optimizes its transportation routes and redundant infrastructure after rapid expansion. This process follows the principle of “use it or lose it” and enters a “pruning” state.
Synapses that are frequently used will multiply, while those that are not will gradually degenerate, helping the brain optimize its neural network and improve functional efficiency.
Second, the rate of brain development refinement continues to improve. As mentioned earlier, by the age of three, brain development reaches approximately 85% of the adult level, and by age six, this figure rises again to about 90%.
During this phase, the neural network continues to refine, the connections between neurons become more efficient, and the speed of information transmission and processing increases significantly, providing a solid foundation for complex cognitive and thinking activities.
How to Seize the “Silver Window” to Enhance Your Child’s Intelligence
Foster a strong parent-child relationship
Real-time fNIRS super-scanning studies have shown that the quality of parent-child interaction significantly impacts a child’s cognitive and emotional development.
A positive parent-child relationship can make children happier, leading to the release of brain-boosting chemicals.
Encourage a reading habit
French brain science expert Stanislas Dion points out that reading alters brain structure and promotes information exchange between the left and right hemispheres.
Instilling a reading habit from an early age and exposing children to a rich and diverse language environment can enhance their language comprehension, logical thinking, and imagination.
If parents persist with this habit over the long term, it will train the part of the brain responsible for language understanding, logical thinking, and imagination. As reading volume increases, the neural pathways in the child’s brain become more complex and efficient.
Enrich sensory experiences
Studies have shown that multisensory stimulation can promote cerebral cortex activity and enhance neural pathway establishment, thereby improving information processing speed and overall cognitive performance.
For example, mothers can play with sand alongside their children, allowing them to feel the texture of the sand with their hands (touch), observe its color (vision), and listen to the sound it makes when poured (hearing).
Through this simple multisensory experience, brain development is effectively promoted, and cognitive and creative abilities are enhanced.
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