Genes Are Not The Whole Story
Before conception, parents possess the power to create an environment that can beneficially assist the procreation of a child with greater than normal intellectual development and improved health. We personally hold sway over these processes, which are democratic and open to all. They are not based solely upon your inherited DNA, nor necessarily controlled by racial, social or economic factors.
To some degree, parents can potentially influence Darwin's documented process of natural selection by speeding up the process of brain development in just one generation. For instance, would-be parents who possess higher than average levels of intelligence genetically inherited from their own parents, but who fail to take care of their own physical and mental well being, can potentially place their unborn children at risk. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy, smoking, taking drugs and/or poor nutrition, create a risk of damage to mother's health whence the child could be damaged intellectually and/or physically.
On the other hand, parents who may not be the lucky holders of great levels of intellectual attainment, but who are able to persevere with a reasonable level of understanding coupled with strength of character and motivation, have the potential to endow their family's next generation with greatly improved health and cerebral status. Simply by utilising all or much of the data contained in this series of publications, focusing on the goal of creating the very best environment for their progeny, parents have the potential to excel on their children's behalf.
Although the genetic predisposition of the unborn child is clearly relevant, heredity is ‘not' the be all and end all of the story. Physiological, psychological, nutritional and environmental factors come into play to a considerable degree. In fact an ever growing number of clinical studies continue to confirm that the brain is far more plastic than was once thought, and that intellect emanating from heredity need only govern up to fifty percent of an individual's final IQ score.
Most people will equate IQ (high IQ) with education. That is not entirely accurate, as although education can hone and polish intellect, raw-IQ is in place when your child is born. What has not been widely known, is that raw-IQ can be developed long before traditional education commences. So what you do ‘before' conception, during pregnancy and ‘before' your child starts school, will directly influence their progress. Genes are definitely ‘not' the whole story, and as parents or potential parents, you possess far greater control over the outcome of your child's intellectual, psychological and physiological status than you might think.
During the first year of life, the human brain grows to 75% of its adult size. From one year to around the age of seven, most (but not all) of the brain's remaining 25% development is accomplished. Parents conversant with the many dietary, environmental, physiological and psychological components that can help expand and inspire intellect during the early years when so much is possible, can potentially increase their children's personal growth by an exponential degree.
IQ is important, and an intellect developed to a higher than average status will assist in every area of life - social and professional. But there are many factors which count towards the goal of personal success. That very much includes social skills and emotional maturity (EQ). High IQ is a bonus.
The degree to which intellect and creativity are nourished within each individual child depends upon how parents care for them from the first moments of life. Later, the manner in which schools and universities educate our children. Knowledge is the key, and the Prodigy Series attempts to provide a great deal of that knowledge in a reader-friendly format for parents with busy schedules.
Whether you would like your child to become a member of MENSA or simply wish to ensure that each young individual is amazingly happy and fulfilled, the content of this series of publications - added to your own creative input and personal care - can almost certainly assist.
We are constantly told that we must ‘add value' to products and services. That applies to humans too, and the most basic attribute we can add value to is our brains. Not just for economic reasons - although getting paid is always pleasant even if you only give it away later to family, friends or a deserving cause - but for more intrinsic reasons, too.
The Thai journalist Nithinand Yorsaengrat, a writer on the environment and traditional art and craft skills, when describing a slow growing but common plant with limited fertility and a plain appearance - similar to flax thread called ‘yaa lipao' (lyfodium flexuosum), which needs hot and humid conditions in order to grow at all - stated that when nurtured to maturity, it is highly prized when crafted by (high right-brain) Thai people into delicate and artistic works of basketry that can last a hundred years.
Nithinand then made a comparison with the plain looking, difficult to grow plant, and human beings:
"It can be compared to an ordinary person with knowledge and intelligence whose value is admired and favoured. It has added value to itself from nothing, and has become a favourite with all kinds of people because of its beauty and delicate craftsmanship.''
As with any work of nature or art - and human beings must be one of nature's ultimate works of art - what can you do to help maximise and ‘add value' to your child's intellectual, creative and emotional potential?
Well, it begins with your romance, before you've even considered making your first baby.
FADE TO: I. EXT. NIGHT. A HOLIDAY PARADISE. A HANDSOME GUY AND A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRL WALK ALONE ON A TROPICAL BEACH. The stars twinkle in a clear moonlit sky and a balmy breeze rustles her hair. Deeply in love, their pulses racing, the couple look dreamily into each other's eyes.
That is where it all starts, and if you intend to love your child as much as you love each other at the start of your romance, here's what you can do before your baby is even conceived:. Prodigy tells you how.