I am pleased to inform you that your child is smart! Yes, even if she has more trouble than another in school, even if what is simple for the majority seems complicated for her, and even if the others say of her that she is “delayed” or “limited”.
Your child is smart! Never doubt it. Of course, it may be difficult in some areas. But it is not that she is thoughtless. She’s just good at something else. In what? I’ll let you discover it among these 8 types of intelligence.
1. Logic – Mathematical intelligence (as Albert Einstein)
Your child has the ability to calculate, reason, solve math problems, ask questions “why” and “how” and look for answers, look for structures and classify into categories. Your child may be a scientist, a researcher, a computer scientist, or a doctor.
You can encourage her to develop this expression through games (chess, puzzles and puzzles, crossword puzzles, calculations), by targeted trips (science and nature observation, museum visits, exploration) and by working on the computer.
2. Linguistic intelligence (like Victor Hugo)
Your child likes to play with words and sounds, write, read, tell stories, speak abstract notions, retain very easily what she hears, has a good memory of dates and names, and remembers funny stories. Your child will perhaps be a writer, a poet, a journalist, a radio or TV host, an actor, a lawyer, a translator.
You can encourage her to develop this kind of intelligence by reading, imitating, doing theater, memorizing poems, writing (stories, diaries), playing scrabble, learning a foreign language.
3. Visual spatial intelligence (like the architect Gaudi)
Your child likes to design, draw, read graphics, create posters (design), organize space, needs images to understand, has ease to visualize and associate objects with each other, has great ability to The ground. Your child may be an architect, a sculptor, a director, an interior designer, a fashion designer, a geographer, an airplane pilot or a photographer?
You can encourage her in this way by introducing her to drawing, photography, geographical maps, inviting her to put by image what she feels, her associations of ideas, inviting her to walk and to observe.
4. Musical intelligence (like Mozart)
Your child is able to think in rhythms and melodies, to remember complex musical patterns, to interpret or create music, to play on the musicality of words and phrases, she hums often, and likes to beat the pace. Your child will perhaps be a professional musician, singer, conductor, DJ, sound engineer, composer or music critic.
You can encourage her to play an instrument, compose, sing, learn her music and rhythm, perfect herself, compare musical styles, attend concerts, and so on.
5. Body-kinesthetic intelligence (as Cirque artists)
Your child likes to manipulate objects, perform complex physical acts (big gap in gymnastics, leg shifts to soccer, striking force in tennis), perform tasks involving fine motor skills and excellent coordination, express emotions with her body, needs to always be in motion. Your child may be an athlete, surgeon, mechanic, inventor, dancer, artist or comedian.
You can encourage her to practice in a sport, to develop her fine motor skills and her coordination (by playing Mikado or playing cards, for example), to evacuate her energy, to walk, to do theater, and so on.
6. Naturalist intelligence (like Darwin)
Your child loves nature, has a great knowledge of ecology, likes to take care of animals, has an easy way to find means of survival in nature, knows the traces of animals, knows poisonous plants which are edible, likes to garden, etc. Your child will perhaps be a biologist, botanist, gardener, oceanographer, zoologist, hunter, fisherman, chef or veterinarian.
You can encourage her to develop this intelligence by taking part in environmental actions, introducing her to gardening or oenology (knowledge of wines) – WTF?, proposing to her to have a notebook and observations, in her making it possible to discover nature as often as possible (sea, mountain, forest, lakes …), etc.
7. Intra-personal intelligence (like Gandhi)
Your child likes to be alone, think, and meditate, she is very aware of her strengths and weaknesses, she knows what goal to set and how to reach it, and she knows where her emotions come from and how to channel them. Your child may be a consultant, a philosopher, a therapist, a yoga teacher.
How to help her develop this asset? By encouraging her to read books of philosophy, allowing her to be alone regularly, proposing to her to write a newspaper, to practice exercises of concentration and meditation.
8. Inter-personal intelligence (as Mother Teresa)
Your child is very social, adapts to any environment, is empathetic (stands in the place of people), tolerant, has an ease in solving the relationship problems between individuals, is often the one that leads others (The leader of the group), makes friends easily, is persuasive … Your child will perhaps be organizer of events, teacher, religious, social work psychologist, mediator or an ambassador.
You can help your child promote these abilities by encouraging them to volunteer, to work in teams, to empathize, to go out with others, to share their knowledge with others…
“Tell me and I will forget it. Show it to me and I may remember it. Involve me, and I will understand.” (Chinese proverb)
As you can see, your child’s intelligence is not only measured by her IQ (Intelligence Quotient), which is a very limited way of quantifying the individual’s abilities. Each person possesses these 8 types of intelligence, but does not develop them in the same way. And because each person is different, it is difficult to establish a school curriculum that matches all children. That is why some of them are unfortunately left out because they cannot keep up with the majority. Not because they are slow to learn, but simply because it is not adapted so that all children understand what they are taught. There is no fatality, quite the contrary.
Now that you know your child is smart, tell her. Show her that she is capable, that she is gifted for something. Value it, and help it as best it can where it really hurts. By balancing her abilities and abilities on the one hand, facing her difficulties on the other, you help her regain self-confidence and maintain self-esteem. Remember, your child is under construction. Give her the best possible foundation to build her personality, and implicate her to give her the abilities to remake himself!