(OK, it's an obnoxious name. However, the book is about a child being given the opportunity to step into his or her highest potential)
Dr. David Perlmutter
Neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition
Director of the Perlmutter Health Center
Truth #1: Until age three, up to 30 IQ points are up for grabs. You can help create a faster, more efficient, higher-capacity brain for your child through choices you make during the window of opportunity years, (up until age 5). Help set your child up for success.
1. Breast feed or, if have to, use a formula with brain boosting nutrients.
Supplements for Nursing mothers: Supplement containing 400 mg DHA from algae daily. www.smartDHA.com
If formula, needs to contain 19mg DHA per 5 oz serving.
2. Feed your child an optimal diet. Even a slight deficiency in key vitamin, mineral or nutrient during this time can result in a lower IQ, poor test scores, depression & even drug abuse later.
a. See book Smarter Child by Perlmutter for recommended foods
b. Daily supplements for children 6 months to 2 years
DHA 100mg
iron 2mg per 2.2 lbs of body weight until age1
children’s multivitamin
DHA 200 mg from marine algae
3. Engage baby in mentally stimulating activities through entire childhood
Recommended Books, Toys, Games, Websites? See book Smarter Child by Perlmutter
Picking a BrainFriendlyy Daycare center? See book Smarter Child by Perlmutter for
4. Limit the amount of time the baby/toddler watches TV, DVDs and plays video games. Excess TV & video games add up to poor grades in school.
5. Introduce your child to formal musical training by the age of 4. It will make him or her a stronger math and science student.
6. Early training on the computer can improve your child’s cognitive function.
7. Protect your child from common brain toxins found in food, toys, clothing and even your own back yard that can cause learning problems and rob her of IQ points.
8. And of course *****Raise your child in a warm, loving, low stress environment with attentive caregivers.
(Note from Heather: I do not fully agree with Dr Max's desire for completely single sex education for all. However, I do agree with single sex classes. I believe in educating males during their window of opportunity and educating females during their window. There have been studies showing benefits for girls from single sex education schools but some negative effects for boys. )
Truth #2: In recent years, scientists have discovered that differences between girls and boys are more profound than anybody guessed. The points this book makes:
1.Female brains develop differently than male brains.
In girls, the language areas of the brain develop before the areas used for spatial relations and for geometry. In boys, it's the other way around. A curriculum which ignores those differences is more likely to produce boys who can't write and girls who think they're "dumb at math."
2. Male brains are wired differently than female brains
By adolescence, for girls, negative emotion is processed in the same area of the brain that processes language, in the cortex. So, it's easy for most girls to talk about their emotions. For males emotional processing stays in the same lower order center (amygdala), which has fewer direct connections to the part of the brain responsible for speech. This is why it is harder for most boys to explain how they are feeling. (Of course there are some exceptions)
3. Girls hear better than boys.
The typical teenage girl has a sense of hearing seven times more acute than a teenage boy. That's why daughters so often complain that their fathers are shouting at them. Dad doesn't think he's shouting, but Dad does not hear his voice the way his daughter does. In one study they found that eleven year old girls are distracted by noises 11 times softer than that which distracts an eleven year old boy. Most girls do not learn as well in a loud classroom.
4. Girls and boys see differently, literally:
The male retina is substantially thicker than the female retina. Males have mostly large, thicker M cells. Females have mostly small, thinner P cells. Girls prefer warm color crayons because the P cells pick up these better. Boys prefer black, grey silver because their M cells are wired to pick up these colors. The texture of dolls is more appealing to P cells. The moving shiny truck is more appealing to M cells.
6. Girls & Boys self concepts are different:
Sexual Self Concept: Men’s sexual self concept has an aggressive dimension. Almost no girls have a sexual self concept that is aggressive.
The majority of men desire more sexual partners than women.
We need to encourage aggressive play for boys that need it. If they are prevented, naturally aggressive boys may suppress their aggression only for it to come out in far worse ways. According to Edwin McGargee, three quarters of all murders are committed by not overtly aggressive people but by quiet, seemingly well-behaved men who have never found a safe or appropriate outlet for their aggression. You cannot turn a bully into a flower child but you can turn a bully into a knight.
Ability: Men systematically overestimate their abilities, Girls systematically underestimate their abilities.
7. Risk taking:
The majority of men make higher risk choices in front of other men.
Male children are more likely to do something dangerous from the start if given the opportunity. When parent’s try to stop it. Boys are less likely to comply. Boys are more likely to report feeling exhilarated by dangerous activity. Girls are more likely to report fear.
Most males systematically overestimate their abilities, Most females systematically underestimate their abilities.
Males are much more likely to die during thunderstorms because they will try to drive through a flooded patch of road. Most girls will turn around.
Females need to be encouraged to take risks and to raise their estimation of their own abilities. The majority of males need to be kept from riding their bike off a cliff.
In one study, 57% of men ask for more money when applying for a job. 7% of women do the same.
Most boys will choose violent fairy tales. This is not a sign of underlying psychological problems. Most girls choose warm fuzzy.
8. Boys and girls have different interests
Young females show more interest in taking care of babies than males.
(Interesting note: Adult male chimpanzees are more likely to hunt and eat medium size animals. Female are more likely to eat berries and nuts and invertebrate species like termites. )
9. Boys & girls have different ways of relating to each other
Boys talking with each other constantly tease each other. Aggressive talk and games are fun for boys. “your mama.....”
Most girl friendships are face to face and self-disclosure is a precious badge. Most boy’s friendships are shoulder to shoulder.
Boys fight more but the fights are short-lived and they are closer afterward. Girls fight less but when they do they don’t speak to each other for a long time after, if at all.
10. Boys and Girls have different Learning Styles
Girls affiliate with teachers, wanting them to know who they are, wanting to impress them. Often boy’s friendship with a teacher is construed as a sign of geekdom.
Few young girls thrive under pressure. Many young boys are energized by confrontation and time-constraint tasks.
Truth # 3: Toxins can effect Health, IQ, & development. You can prevent toxic load and damage to your child's health.
1. Childhood cancer rates jumped about 27% between 1975 and 2002. Treatment kills cancer cells and damages healthy cells causing other complications.
2. Rates of asthma jumped about 200% between 1980 and 2005.
3. The percentage of children diagnosed with allergies increased about 300% between 1960s to 1990s (Yes in part because there was increased awareness but certainly not only that.)
4. Diagnosis for autism and ADHD jumped almost 400% in the last 20 years. Too high to attribute only to improved recognition and diagnosis.
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