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On Infant IQ enrichmentYou can and you should. An IQ of 110 + should be no problem but remember that intelligence alone isn’t enough. We began with our daughter before she was born and today at 18 she can choose the university she wants to study in (we live in a small country full of Jews and Arabs). And I wouldn’t have to pay a penny, not that I have many. So listen close.I’ve read through previous answers to posts similar to yours like ‘how can I make my child a genius’. What I noticed was that one important issue was missing; the child! Please don’t take offence but we live in an age when the child has to ‘fit in’ and thus in the process the ‘original’ or the ‘natural’ child is morphed into someone else; so where did the original child go? I’ve read comments from the erroneous opinion that there is nothing you, the mother can do (you can!), to the presumably correct Omega 3 supporters. Perhaps the ‘happy and healthy is enough’ crowd misses the point too. The child is also missing in the sense that the parent/s want to project their own needs, frustrations, failures hoping to compensate them through the poor child.You noticed I said, the mother, keep him out of the picture for the time being.A wish; a partly blind person can’t fully enjoy a sunset nor can the slightly deaf hear the bird’s greatest songs (- disadvantaged, sorry). The vast majority of us journey through life with average mental faculties thus being ‘partly blind’. The great majority of us exist slightly below or above that no-thrill 100 IQ mark, experiencing an average life were the sunset is ‘nice +’ and the song of a bird is somewhere between ‘ok’ and ‘wow’.Where are the deep-down thrills that can stun some people into silence, the inner excitement and where are those tingling of the skin moments, those that natural life so abundantly surrounds us with? Perhaps we simply can’t experience them but they are there. You, the mother should be aware of your own hidden potential as a woman to make it possible for your child to reach her best potential (I think of an infant as a girl, silly I know but girls are smarter than boys, sorry males).You can expand and strengthen all of your child’s mental faculties through feeding and exercising them by stimulation and in so doing you will give her a gift that’s priceless; to experience the world in its total beauty! Only a dream? You decide.The resources you would needIf given the very rarely available conditions, the material resources and the time, strength, knowledge, understanding and selfless perseverance, only then you can make it possible for your child to reach her fullest practical mental potential. But you don’t have to go all the way; you can adjust the extent to fit your particular situation, I’ll help you, actually it’s your baby that motivates me.Once you have read this think to what extent you canBut whatever you do, don’t let your husband get involved and make decisions. In this department the male is ignorant no matter what titles, IQ’s and percentiles he possesses.In practice you have three choices; let your child remain her natural self, perhaps with advice by me, NEL (more about that lower down) and I can promise you a lot of hard work and opposition by friends and family. Then you have to do the ‘fit in’ i.e., leave it to the system, the normal day-care, school… the usual drag.The third option is to aim at something in between the hard stuff and the easy road trodden by all. I recommend the latter.In our case we tried to go all the way. My wife, a retired teacher, retired because she took in so many other kids to look after, had in spite of it all the time and resources to enhance our daughter’s early mental development by stimulating and exercising her cognitively according to my findings. She allowed our little one her freedom of choice from the very beginning (which was during the first week after birth) with amazing results.Today, just turned 18 she is on the one hand free to be her natural self and on the other hand she can ‘fit in’ to the social mix and its demands (perhaps not perfectly) by suppressing some of her true profile. More about her further down.Question; What is more relevant in our lives than our level of intelligence that everyone seems to worship? When logic and one’s oh so smart intelligence (IQ 172.7+ by IQ Superior test) tells one to turn left but one feels like turning right, guess which way one will turn? Your answer was right. So intelligence lost and emotions won. So why concentrate on…? Even though we think we can, we cannot meaningfully increase, contain, direct or measure intelligence when already adults, so what’s the point in chasing IQ scores? The improvement has to be done from before birth and for the first three years! And what about all the other factors involved in the mental development of your child besides the fallacious IQ, for example the EQ? Now that’s another sad and neglected story. And then there are all the other aspects of a child early development and…Some background to NELThere are some recorded historical examples of successfully enriching a child’s intelligence, some within the last few hundred years. A good example was an Austrian named Karl Witte who declared to his friends that if he would have a son he would ‘educate’ him to be a man above others. He did and the son, also named Karl Witte, entered university at a very early age to become an academic giant. Interestingly Witte senior documented his work by having kept a record of how and what he had taught to his son. A century later a Scottish scholar found the diary filed away in a British library and decided to apply Witte’s method to his own children. Two of them became world-renowned scientists and leaders in their fields of sciences and the others obtained an above average position in life.But perhaps the most interesting case was the one of Dr Machado who was given the opportunity to increase the level of the intellect of the total population of a nation with an emphasis on its children. For 4 years he carefully documented his, ‘The Right to be Intelligent’, project until a political coup put a stop to it. But the results were so astonishing that US Ivy League universities gaped at the figures. So they did their own research and saw Dr Machado’s social program as a game-changer; if applied. But the establishment preferred ignorance; and that’s another sad story by itself.Even a single individual’s exceptionally high intelligence if activated outside the social parameters can make an irritating notch to an otherwise perfectly straight line, and imagine the results if there would be many of them top-smart free agents jumping all over the place!I too have documented my small contribution to this field and divided some of it into ‘NEL notes’ that I can send to those querying a particular point.Not my newsSo what I’m saying here is in no way mine or original, it’s been done before, proven and documented. All I’ve done (during the last 50 years, well really only 20 from when the blessed computer was born) is to have dug up and tried to connect some of the dots. Besides the historical and contemporary records full of ‘dots’ I have followed the net. When for example a scientific journal publishes in a language unintelligible to the layman a research groups latest findings of a specific detail regarding an infant’s early mental development I see that as a dot. Perhaps that item is news within the scientific community (they’re very eager to publish papers to gain recognition and thus greater speaker fees [but no like those of the Clintons’]) but the findings don’t reach the average mother in any meaningful way. UK’s Daily Mail ‘exposes’ a ‘sensational’ development in scientific research followed by silly comments, but that’s it, but I may see a dot. A very important dot is a mother’s modest opinion based on her own instincts. She sticks to her opinion rather than accepting the advice of a renown bearded professor’s (never been a woman) latest, ‘How to bring up a Happy Child,’ user’s manual for mothers. Go for it mothers, go.Now imagine someone digging up as many dots as possible and with a pencil connect them and find that they make a rough picture of how a mother can enhance her infant’s mental development. How exactly Witte found his sources I don’t know, only his methodology.Connecting the dots I saw an incomplete picture emerging but only in black and white; something was missing, somehow lacking of life. It was only when researching anthropological records for more dots on the natural order and the natural child’s innate behaviour and the way she learns, that these new dots gave colour to the picture and it became alive and beautiful. Perhaps the best concise example of this is Liedloff’s ‘The Continuum Concept’.Learning vs. educationA child learns through her senses what takes place around her aided by her innate instincts. But when she’s ‘educated’ she’s placed in an intellectually, emotionally and physically restricted environment (the classroom) were she is told to believe in what the teacher says. So in spite of having her own alternative feelings she ‘has to’ (as in forced to) give in, ending up in not trusting or believing in herself. Being told by others what’s good for her and what to believe in she loses her enthusiasm to learn and her own free will to think and to decide; after being trapped she was robbed! It has been established that school (education) perverts the child’s own natural curiosity and will to learn. Thus her innate free self has been destroyed by ‘education’ and she has become a good citizen. It’s really quite simple. And sad. But necessary.In utero and onYou might ask when is the best time to begin the this mental stimulation and the answer is; whilst she’s still in the womb and continue up to the fourth birthday. The tiny one within you that you already dearly love is halfway through pregnancy (4-5 months) expecting more input from the outside world. She’s becoming increasingly curious demanding more stimulating experiences as part of the way nature ensures the survival of the species. The little one records (imprints permanently in the brain) the stimulants she receives and thus remembers when born the highlights of what she experienced whilst in the womb (there are many recorded instances of this); especially her relationship with you, the mother. Please give your all and never stop… never stop? Nature has given a woman the role of nurturing and as long as she nurtures she’s in balance with herself and with nature (many middle-aged women seek innately fulfilment through becoming a grandmother recognized nor is the ‘halfway through to the 4th’ periods importance in a participating in what she knows best, being a mother) and thus having another role in the survival of the species.What has the average up to 3-4 year child of today seen, experienced or been especially stimulated with; hardly anything of worth if we compare it with nature’s choice. So the resulting maturity of intelligence is in accord. I consider that child abuse. Sorry, no personal offence.The rush of the ‘curiosity’ lasts through the birth and stays high for a year then declining over the next three years. It is during this critical ‘from halfway to the 4th’ period that the ‘windows’ (the 5 Aristotlean senses though there are some 20 more for ex. the sense of balance) through which knowledge and experience enters the mind are open and then they close, for good! Some of these windows however close earlier and some later. Think; when the average child begins school to be educated nearly all of her mind is structured into its permanent form. So whatever your own child, with your help, has been able to collect into her bag of knowledge, understanding and wisdom during that critical early period is what she has to manage with for the rest of her life! Think more; during this critical period her brain develops further and she learns more than during the rest of her life, no matter how hard she tries later on or what university she attends or who her professor is.To repeat; by the end of this critical period she has received, or then not, the tools, including intelligence (which is her ability to efficiently use the knowledge, understanding and wisdom that has been given to her) and with which she has to manage along the long road ahead. This period is when most of the mental stimulation and enhancement takes place, that’s when the basics for the nurturing part of the intellect, and the many other mental functions, has to be done. But there are recorded instances where average healthy 1-2 year olds have begun receiving cognitive stimulation and grown up to become mental giants, and I might add, happy giants; so all is not lost for those that missed the early train.About Stimulation and IntelligenceThere are various ways how to stimulate the mind of an infant. All senses should be involved in a way suitable for the age and the stage of development. When stimulated the mind ‘stores’ the experience whilst developing an ability (the intelligence) to efficiently use what it possesses.Someone said that, “Intelligence is the minds imagination and its purpose is to find and use all that there is and then to create what isn’t.” How would that one play out? Surely a small task for us Quora IQ fanatics.The writerAge wise I’m well into my fourth generation, a semi smart (below average) ex-academic (didn’t like the straightjacket of academia) that’s been around more than once, have no need for self-aggrandisement, love children beyond call and suffer when I see parents multiplying their own ignorance and ego upon the next generation; didn’t mean you though. The subject, Early Cognitive Intervention*, that we’re talking about here has been and is (one of) my life’s love and work. I prefer to call it Natural Early Learning or NEL; more homely.This field of study and especially any practical application is underrated, ignored and practically unknown. Many ‘experts’ come with their theories on the subject but no one seems to give it a comprehensive as in covering every aspect throughout, practical ‘hands on’ instructions covering from A to Z. I’ve done my little bit and if you know of others on the same track as I please let me know (hope to learn more). And believe me, I’ve done some searching by myself, copied from the great ones, hopefully found solutions for today, and put them in practice with to me astonishing results; so I should know what I’m talking about. Please disagree.Public interestI used to run a website on the subject, Natural Early Learning (NEL), but the practical interest was close to nil. After an initial euphoria the parent’s enthusiasm withered by the daily drag, social habits and commitments to their lifestyle (read smart-phone and laptop) and especially with the help of friends and neighbours saying, “You’re crazy!” No one wants to be the odd one out; as within a flock of sheep. Sorry, that was nasty but not meant for you. The academia looks the other way as there is no direct money in infant early cognitive stimulation and of course the establishment has its own vested interests. Please don’t join in this momentary euphoria.Personal experienceI know this is a ‘slightly’ biased ego-trip but allow me. My youngest daughter didn’t enter any day-care, kindergarten or other childcare programs, didn’t go to regular school until at 15 and then only for two years part time. This was in order for her to obtain the necessary matriculation certificates for possible tertiary studies. Until the on-off school her ‘native’ tongue had been English and being dyslexic she had devised her own method of speed-reading without me knowing. Now her studies were in another language with completely different letters so she had to create another system to speed-read because of her dyslexia. She did well above the average; for example she studied maths, mostly by herself, couldn’t take the snail pace of a normal class and scored 95 without any previous mathematical tuition. All the ‘training’ and all the tools she needed for that were given to her before her 4th birthday. At that time I told my wife, “She’s ready for life; no matter what, she’ll manage.” After her 5th year we hardly did any intellectual enhancement her being ‘ready’ to independently grow and pursue her interests. In comparison; the average child enters school to be ‘educated’ at that age or later. I’m telling you good people; that later is too late!Sure we provided alternatives and opportunities for our daughter from which to choose after the age of 5. Having joined the nearby Bedouin girls shepherding goats on the hills, learning about their daily life and traditions, she also learned to love goats and so goat husbandry became one of her favourites. She took on the duties of midwifery, a vet to the maker of cheese and selling both goats and their milk eventually buying a horse; she was not yet 10 at the time she began. She didn’t start to read until 7 (a la Einstein) but once she got going her monthly consumption of books at one stage was a stack as high as herself whilst winning readathons. For that she had created her own speed-reading technique to counteract her dyslexia. Since then the stack has shrunk as other priorities crowd the scene. Out of curiosity when 14, she enrolled in a pre-academic program at a university to find out what it was all about; and her opinion was, good to know. But when 17 she was unwilling but obligated to do a battery of tests and as a result she could have received full scholarships at leading universities but declined as she wanted to be independent; to do what she wanted when she wanted, in her own way and not be stuck in a rut of obligations. If and when she’d decide to begin to study a specific subject she could return to the academia, and that would be of her own choice; I’d call that freedom!The Quorans are perfectly right in that being ‘smart’ has its downsides. When she was 8 we purposefully moved from an urban ‘village’ environment to one of a ‘farm’ with only a few neighbours (we are not wealthy and it involved a lot of hard work). With animals, stuff growing, mud between the toes etc. we all experienced a rather ‘roughing it’ type of a lifestyle for a few years. This was in order to lessen the impact of the stereotype society. Did she become socially deprived, you might ask. That’s just the point, I hoped that she’d retain her originality, naturalness and early mental maturity, this obviously setting her aside from the social norm. Later when back in the ‘civilized world’ she felt herself restrained by the environment sometimes feeling frustrated by her ‘lack of freedom’ but she soon adjust even if not perfectly. Her general knowledge, her mature mind and the richness of her experiences made her into someone others found at times hard to take, but that to her was their problem.Back to when small. Her first overnight camping trip was when three weeks old and she’s slept outside since, winter and summer till early teens. From the very beginning physical stimulation, massage, exercises, balance, climbing, adventures etc. were an important part of our activities resulting in her becoming dexterous and confident in many areas. We saw where she was gifted and where not leaving the choice of what to do to her. She swam freely at 3 winning medals when 8-9 but didn’t want to continue, began scuba diving at 15 and is now 2 stars off to becoming an international instructor. She rappelled down alone a 15 ft. wall when 4 grinning all the way. At 5 she rappelled a 150ft cliff also alone and happily walked back up through the woods by herself. She did her first skydive with a partner when 6, when 7 she did a 3 month trip with her mum around the Central and northern Americas visiting and participating as a student in many different kinds of schools including Clonlara and various home- and free-schooling groups. At this stage we saw that it was easier for her to adapt to differing age-levels of adults when communicating than to children except for babies. Adapting socially was helped by us having so many children of differing ages in our home.Later she spent months as a student in a Sudbury school gaining first-hand experience of full-blown democratic education. Since attending her first International Democratic Education Conference when 12 in England she has been to 7 major Dem Ed meetings all around the world. She’s now planning on taking an internship in Puerto Rico to get practical experience in learning more about that form of education.At 16 she bought her first car with money she had worked for; the classic Alfa Romeo GT! She’s not aiming for the stars, just having fun being alive aiming for her own goals. At the moment, when not travelling, she’s working hard; loves to work with people whilst also doing on the side two college level degrees, on banking and real estate whilst moonlighting as an apprentice hoping to close 2 deals shortly. She has been in charge of my bank account and other paper work since 17. She’s one multifaceted and practical down-to-earth girl not loaded down by ego and abhorring IQ and other tests saying, “Why should I place myself above some and below others; anyway it’s all crap.” When asked what she wants to make into her career she answered, “Life.”I won’t go into further details of her ‘achievements’ but boy; am I grateful and proud of her! She’s a private person and doesn’t want to be contacted except via NEL and only in connection with Democratic Education as an alternative to normal schooling.And yes, you’re right. It’s not all sunshine and sweet smelling roses, there are the thorns and the clouded skies too, but that’s life. We can take that one up separately.This above ‘ego-trip’ was included mainly so that you’d see the results achieved and that I speak from personal experience based on the work of others. It is all documented in my NEL notes on a day-to-day base covering all aspects. And this ‘ego trip’ has also given me the opportunity to show my appreciation and pride in my wife Rivka that made it all possible. During the first, those crucial years she had an average of 8 other children, some still hanging to her hems, some for adoption by us, fostering or just off the streets; an amazing woman.The NEL notesThis is an abbreviated version of NEL-note QB1 and it might answer some of your concerns about Infant IQ enrichment. NEL, a non-commercial venture, stands for Natural Early Learning covering the enrichment of an infant’s cognitive development. These notes are for you the mother so that you can in a practical way envision and if deciding upon, follow the advice suggested to the degree you feel is appropriate.The ethical dilemmaThere is undisputable evidence that early cognitive stimulus affects the development of an infant’s mind which I have proven (I know many will debate that, please do), so there is no more questions left except one; the ethical one. Do we have the right to interfere in the development of a human mind? I based my personal decision on how the Western educational establishment, and why not the Far Eastern one too, make, as someone said, zombies out of its young. These zombies are conditioned to function in the various capacities their giftedness or lack thereof allow, for them to be useful for the society (it’s cruel when you really think about it). We, the zombies, obtain acclaim and increased undulation (as in the Berber tradition) the further up the ladder we climb but, alas, even from there those on top are unable to fully enjoy a sunset and obtain that priceless gift; to experience the world in its total beauty!On the other hand if every infant would grow the natural NEL way, there would be no ‘zombie-citizens’ as such to do the 9 to 5 stuff, each one of us being of high intellect whilst free and unrestricted of conventional wisdom and social statuses. The social structure as we know, the whole establishment would twist and shudder, perhaps even collapse and the world would become a free for all arena where the smartest takes it all; or would it (another one for Quora)? What do you wish for your child? Please ponder.Be warnedThe responsibility of interfering in a developing child’s mind is awesome. And yet the ‘system’ is doing its best to ‘adjust’ it to their own advantage from day care and onwards. I consider it child abuse! And you the mother who instinctively would know what to do are forced by being conditioned to follow the social customs or be socially ostracised. That mind of an infant is the greatest human resource we have and if I ‘smell’ anyone misusing the information the NEL notes provide I’ll come after them personally, well at least I’d like to. Especially don’t listen to your husband. NEL is not a base for experiments nor is it available for those with commercial interests (I could do with some voluntary help time-wise though) but only to retain your child’s mental independency and allow her to reach more of her inherent potential. You, the mother, be the judge.Do your own workI will send specific NEL notes to those that request but whilst not exposing the complete methodology to prevent misuse. I suggest that you research the three names I mentioned above and from there dig deeper into what the internet might reveal, especially the Quora (boy do I like that site, it’s like alive, full of fools and smarts undistinguishable one from the other, cheers). Check out how contemporary brilliant young minds acquired their uniqueness, was it nature, nurture, hard work or…? You’ll find sites, articles and research results each being only a ‘dot’ leaving you without a complete picture. But from the material you collect you can form your own conclusions and perhaps come to know more than I, if not then come back to me with some specific question. Pound to a penny you don’t have the strength needed and you’ll end up by sending your child to day care, so why try? But if you have the guts, the perseverance and God willing, the mind and heart to continue, I salute you. I know this is rough talk but I won’t help some eager father trying to make his child into a supermensh according to his own dictate; his wife can do the talking with me. If you want to continue you will receive a questionnaire as to your situation and motives. The ball is in your court.NoteIt should go without mention that the cognitive stimulation* discussed above is but a part of the total care your child needs in order to develop into an intelligent, healthy, well-rounded and independent human being. NEL has also looked into all the other aspects. As you search for other sources for information don’t believe in any of them nor in NEL or your husband, only in yourself.I invite comments and disputations for further study. Thank you.* Early Cognitive Intervention generally refers to the mental stimulation given to a child at an early age. By applying it you, the mother, will increase perhaps significantly your child’s mental abilities, her intelligence, knowledge and understanding, but why would you like your child to be different from most of the other children? Before you can answer that question to your own and my satisfaction we won’t be playing ball together. Perhaps you noticed that I omitted the word ‘wisdom’ from the above? It was because the development of the child can be manipulated to make her possess all other mental attributes whilst false ‘wisdom’ could be shaped by the manipulator making the child a ‘designed for a purpose’ object.PS.Now that we’re at the end of this NEL note please leave your thoughts to do their own thing for a day or two. Don’t interfere. Then start reading again from the top but this time with the eyes of that little cute one, your baby. Let her read every word and slowly digest her feelings. Then imagine the morning when she’ll ask, “Mum, why can’t I go with my friends to the Miss. Greenfield’s kindergarten? They have so much fun.” “Mum, why can’t I go to school like all the other girls do?” “Mum, why can’t I play at Rosemary’s?” “Mum, what do other kids learn at school?” “Mum, why am I special, or am I?” Actually she’s subconsciously afraid that there is something wrong with her when she can’t be like all the others. Now use your imagination and add another ten questions and then answer them all. Do it honestly and without consulting with others except with your heart. Your baby will be quite big before she can answer by herself, her inner doubts and questions that no one else seems to have. Now, mother, after that second reading, do you still want to know more from me? Cheers!