Steve & Jane Adraka are the proud parents of Jake Andraka who at just 15 years old, made a breakthrough in cancer detection that was far superior than anything that existed at that time. His parents offered some advice on some rules or guidelines that might help other parents raise intelligent children:
- Have your child do the thinking, limit how much you do for them in solving a problem. If you are the person wrapping your head around the problem and solving it, your child isn’t.
- Ask as many questions as they ask you. With the wealth of knowledge on the internet have them start looking up answers and doing research.
- Get them involved with the right peer activities. If they have a competitive side, encourage them to compete on math team or debate team or art competitions. Winning in these type things boosts self esteem. Also, see what other higher level competitions exist. Often, the school may not even know about these other competition. Remember, you are you child’s best advocate and resource. Don’t wait for the school to present your child with opportunities
- Model the result you want. Build things and be creative! It’s not all crunching numbers.
- Be involved and stay connected. Every day we ask our children what they did in school. We also use the parent connect tool to always know how they are doing and to say on top of issues and challenges.
- Set early expectations. Our kids know that they are going to college. They have known this since they were in elementary school. We have bookcases of college guides, books on best colleges, how to get in certain schools and other information. It’s a process that starts early.
- Success needs to be a shared goal–shared by the family and celebrated by the family. If your child is finding success in an area that you may not be familiar with, you still must encourage and support them. Success brings confidence and your support means everything.
- Live outside the box. Petty rules stifle creativity. You can tell you child to think outside of the box, but if you have boxed them in their entire life, they have no creative reference point to begin with.
- Teach your kids that most problems in this world are really opportunities in disguise. Innovation comes from discontent. Start when your child is young and keep a list of problems to be pondered or solved. Then, when it is time to do a science fair or other project, you’re ready to go! That’s been very successful for both our children.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnosta/2013/02/25/the-genius-of-raising-brilliant-kids/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/parenting-a-gifted-child-lessons-from-the-andrakas/