Traditional Parenthood: A Child With A Big Head Is An Intelligent Child, Is It True?

The moment a baby is born, the very first thing you notice is the size of their head. It can be disproportionate to the size of their body. In some cases, the size of the head becomes proportionate to the body as the baby grows bigger, but in other cases, the baby grows to become a child with a big head.

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Parents are usually thrilled when their baby is born with a big head. There is a common stereotype that a child with big head is intelligent and possess good genes.  So, is it a truth or is it merely a myth?

Countless researches has been conducted to answer this question. Some researches found that a child with a bigger head is often more smarter especially numerically, while other researches suggest that a child’s intelligence is reflected by how much his or head grows by age one. Multiple other researches suggest the opposite. This topic remains debatable.

However, if we look deeper into this issue, the size or the circumference of the head cannot be used as the sole factor to determine an individual’s intelligence. Yes, it could be a minor contributing factor but there are many other contributing factors to determine a child’s intelligence. Some studies claim that well-educated parents often have smarter children. In fact, other studies even showed that children who grew up in greener urban areas are smarter due to the geographic factor. Even the nutritional status,  in other words, what a child eats, is a vital factor. 

Here are three different ways to identify if a child is smarter than average. 

1. Ability to Lie

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You may hate the idea of a child lying, But you would be surprised to know that when a child starts lying at the age of about 5 years old, they are probably intelligent. Making up lies and cooking up stories are hard. It requires spontaneity and imagination. It demonstrates a child’s cognitive ability. So, when a child starts lying, parents should not get too mad or upset about it. It is certainly not a sign of pathological liars! You can tell them the story of Pinocchio and how his nose grew each time he lied. This way, young children will learn that lying is unnecessary. Nonetheless, you could prompt them to narrate a story for you or complete your story to continue developing their criticality and creativity.

2. Ability to Engage In a Conversation With Adults

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Another obvious sign of intelligence is the ability of a child to engage in a good chat with others. They often mix around with older crowds and they are liked for their ability to converse. They get bored easily around children that are of the same age or younger. If you go to birthday parties or events, you may notice that they are inclined to strike up a conversation with adults. 

3. Highly Curious

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Another sign that a child is brighter than average is reflected by their curiosity level. They ask a lot of questions and to some parents, this could appear to be annoying. Parents who find it annoying might not answer these questions, and in reality, the child might even get scolded for some of their questions that may sound silly. It is a very important phase and if you come across this situation, you need to answer to these questions. The moment you shut them off, they will lose their confidence and curiosity. Always remember that curiosity is an innate desire to learn.

In conclusion, no one is born intelligent. Albert Einstein, known by the world for being a genius has a brain of about less than 3 pounds. This tells you that to be intelligent, it takes a lot of hard work, however you can boost your brain function using various different methods. 

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Most importantly, if a baby is born with an abnormally huge head, parents should be concerned as it could mean that there is excess fluid in the brain or it could be associated with other problems such as Macrocephaly, Dwarfism or even Autism. Get it checked with the doctor before you succumb to what might be a stereotype.

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