IQ and Mom- Sort of like Mom and Apple Pie

While it is a fact that your IQ has more to do with your mother's IQ than just about
anything else, enviroment and the proper care and feeding (garbage in-garbage out)
of the brain, can and does make a huge difference in how smart a child is and will be
as an adult.

Here's a bold statement for you to ponder.

Based on the many studies I have read, the parents I have seen over the last 30 years, and the success or failure of a child based on their reading ability, it is my firm belief, that I could take an "average" child and raise him/her to have a fairly impressive IQ.

What do I mean?

Let's say you take a regular American family of average intelligence, with two children. 
Like most average families, they do not spend much time stressing learning or creating an enriching lifestyle or enviroment for their children, mainly because school usually takes care
of itself, and they are too busy-doing whatever those kinds of parents do).

I could take one of the children leaving the other one with his parents,
Mr. & Mrs. Average Busy Family, and knowing what I know now-which is mostly outlined somewhere or another on this website- if you tested them periodically from childhood
through adulthood,  my child would not only prove to have an intelligence quotient that is several points higher than his sibling, but he would be a more successful adult, in almost every area of his life. (Now don't get your shorts in a knot without reading a little further.)

I say that, not because I am wonderful, although-in certain circles, I am,  ;>)
but because I felt that a statement like that would more clearly explain, just how
powerful strong reading skills really are, and the kind of impact they can have on
your child and their future.

Free ebooklet, "How to Raise Smarter Kids by Raising a Reader"

And the good news is that any loving, caring parent could do the same thing, if they would
truly commit to creating the proper enviroment and lifestyle for their family.

As you can see, this is a passion for me.  I walk, talk, and advocate children's literacy wherever I go. (My poor beautician!-she has to hear it and she doesn't even intend to have any kids-and no it is NOT my fault-ok)

Now, here is a change of subject for you-Not really!- but it is a little different.

Here's another "something for you to ponder", only this one is a little scary.

What are the chances that your child could go 
to prison?

The answer just might surprise you.

 Good grief Kim, what in the world are you talking about now? 

Let Me Tell You What I'm Talking About.
I'm talking about the possibility that you could be helping your child develop one of the strongest indicators for children "at risk", and you could also set them up for a life where they just barely make enough money to pay the bills.

Are you just trying to scare people? 
Absolutely Not!  Keep reading.

Research is constantly being done on children and reading. One of
the things that has become evident over the years is that

the lower the child's reading ability-the less that child will earn during their lifetime and the lower the child's standard of living will be.

There is also a strong correlation to a child's reading level and whether or not that child is determined to be "at risk".  What that means is, the greater the child's chances are of becoming a behavior problem-not just at school but at home as well.

Some states are even using the reading levels of their third graders to determine the future needs of their correctional facilities-other wise known as...PRISONS.

Of course the very fact that you care enough about your child's future success by coming to this website and are still reading this, is a good sign.

As a parent, you absolutely MUST raise a reader. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to fight (and win) the T.V. Monster, and raise that reader.

The T.V. Monster

Television is a HUGE reason kids do not read.  Videos and computer games are coming in a close second.  These household "monsters", along with junk/fast food consumption are also the leading causes of childhood obesity, childhood high blood pressure, and high "bad" cholesterol levels, which are all on the rise in today's kids.

(Actually, as you can see, there isn't really very much "Good" about television at all.)

The younger your child is when they fall in love with reading, the easier raising a reader will be. And that means, the easier YOUR life will be!  

Establishing the love of books creates a reading habit and a love of learning that will make a big difference in every area of their life. It is also more likely that they will choose to read instead of turn on the t.v. when they are older. (Oh, don't worry, they will ALWAYS watch some t.v.-just not as much)

But it raising a reader will not happen unless you make it happen.

READ ON for some more worrisome news!! (I'm just full of fun, aren't I?)

Reading uses certain parts of the brain, and there are some researchers that have determined that the area that our brain uses for reading and comprehending what we read,
is smaller in people who do not read.  Yikes!

I don't know about you-but I do not like the sound of that.  Are the kids today, who are spending more time watching television, video's and playing computer games, stunting the growth of certain areas in their brains?? 

Our brains are meant to develop certain areas and functions at certain times. If we somehow miss out on learning a certain skill or in receiving proper stimuli when we are supposed to get it during growth and development, and consequently, that function does not develop very well, or even at all, then how will it affect the next function that it was to build upon?

We have not yet had years of research on the brains of a generation of non-readers, because we have not had generations of non-readers since society became advanced and educated.  Decades ago, people still communicated and interacted with each other, (there was no stairing vacantly at a screen, unless it was on the front door and you were watching the clouds go by, or something).

Today's advanced technological world calls for all of our faculties, in optimal condition, if we want to continue to advance as a society and have personal success within that society.  We have already lost a lot of ground to several other countries, even coming in under Vietnam in one category. Now, I have nothing against Vietnam. It's just galling to be lower than them in any area of education, since they spend about 5 rice kernels on education in that country, and we spend enough money to feed everyone on the planet plus all of the inhabitants of Pluto-Oh, that's right-Pluto isn't allowed to be a planet anymore-so all the Plutonians had to leave!

The bottom line is this, children in other advanced countries are not spending the amount of hours that our kids do, vegging in front of a television, a computer or a Nintendo Playstation and those countries are slowly but surely knocking our socks off when it comes to educating our kids.

Makes you stop and say.....hhhhmmmmm

Well, what's a parent to do?   The answer is simple. (and the fact that it is so simple is really kind of sad, since we've gotten into such a mess with our reading abilities in this country.)

      Raise a Reader.
      Start early and
      Be consistant.

Get my Free ebooklet "How to Raise Smarter Kids by Raising a Reader"
Do what it says and you are pretty much there.

Sounds over simplified, but if you really do create the right enviroment and lifestyle for your child, it can have an major impact on everything.

If you would bear with me for a moment, I would like to tell you about Usborne Books and why I feature them so prominately on this site.

I found Usborne while looking for books to challenge my 10 yr old son- who was very smart, but losing interest in class- due to a lack of challenging curriculum.  Oh, he had plenty of busy work- since that was the teacher's solution for the smart kids who got finished quickly- but very little that was of interest to him.  I was really worried to think that such a smart happy
child might become a behavior problem.

So, I began searching everywhere for ways to enrich his learning and challenge him at home.  I sifted through many different educational products and did endless hours of research on how best to deal with a smarter gifted child.

What I found floored me.  After all the thousands of dollars that I had spent on educational gadgets and computer software looking for that magic bullet that would
challenge my child and help him meet his potential- I found that the only really guaranteed 
way to raise a smarter child was to raise a strong reader and that they have access to as many "good" books on as many topics as possible and are encouraged to expand those 
topics creatively and limitlessly.  What a relief, to know that I now had the power at my fingertips to help him reach for the stars.

When I found Usborne Books, did my research on them and found out how special they were compared to regular books,  I was hooked!  And happily so.

Usborne Books are the Rolls Royce of children's books!

Here were the perfect resources I needed to challenge my son and make him even smarter than he already was.  I was worried that I might have found them too late. Usually, once a
child gets used to T.V. or video games you have a hard time pulling them back and turning them into readers.

 Luckily for me, he fell in love with the books, as all children do. And the rest is Usborne history. (His IQ is in the mid 140's and he is now a card carrying member of MENSA-and
I'm not saying that Usborne Books did that-remember that Mother's IQ thing (that's me-HA!)
at the very beginning of this page?-but they sure didn't hurt!)

To digress a bit, above I said luckily for me because although I was an avid reader, I was
not really stressing reading or books to my children.  Sure, they had  books, but not the kind or the amount that they needed.  I kind of thought, "Well-they're smart, and it really is the teacher's job to teach them how to read." 

"Good grief, I can't believe I actually thought like that back then.  How embarrassing, especially now that I know what I should have been doing.  But, that is why I work so hard
now, to make sure every parent I can, knows what is important and how to achieve it. 

You need to understand that I was not some dumb, uneducated, or even too-busy-to-bother
or fit-it-in-to-our-day, kind of parent.  I was a very involved, stay at home mom when my two older boys were little, who actually took great pride in having a nurturing loving enviroment where learning and being smart was stressed.

I was, and am, an avid reader- who reads everything I can get my hot little hands on.  I read every child development book under the sun, and yet I was still uninformed when it came to reading and the importance of it in a child's life. 

My point in all of this is, if it could happen to someone like me that easily, then I do not want
to take a chance that it could happen to any other parent at all.

If you are an involved parent who wants to raise smarter kids-then you need Usborne Books.  They will make raising a reader and raising a smarter child
a whole lot easier.

Fill out the form below so I can send you a FREE copy of "How to Teach Your Child To Read" which gives a lot of information that every parent needs to be SURE that they are clear on what they should be doing.

Building and strenthening strong reading skills involves much more than just being able to read the words on a page- and the easiest way of guaranteeing that your child becomes strong in all areas of reading is to have them read-and read the right kind of books. (contrary to the-at least-he's-reading-something-even-if-it-is-the-articles-in-a-girlie-magazine crowd)

The bottom line is this- despite all the hype and advertising for every gadget under the sun-

Reading well is the basis for a child's success in school and life beyond.
And the way a child becomes a strong reader... is by READING.

Not by playing computer games (not even "educational" ones), watching educational programs (although there is a place for some of them in a child's life) or by listening to classical music (although, is is good to learn about the classics-both in music and literature).

 These aren't your average run of the mill books.
They are much better and quite different from the books at your local discount Save-mart. 

Why?

Because Usborne Books are not gimmicks used as marketing strategies to sell other merchandise to kids.

No Gimmicks-Just Real Books created for Real Kids

What does that mean?

Usborne doesn't just throw together a book with the latest cartoon characters and a flat story line-counting on the cartoon's popularity to make the book palatable, (which is nothing more than marketing to sell junk cereal and toys to kids).

Usborne actually creates books using their own specially trained authors, who work with:

language teachers

child development experts,

and reading specialists,

who use information on brain research, to help create books geared to work with the way a child learns and retains information.

The world's largest educational children's publisher

 Usborne Books

The Only Choice for Parents who want to Raise Smarter Kids

they are loved worldwide by librarians, teachers and "parents who insist on the very BEST for their children" 

Usborne Books are also the books most loved by homeschooling parents-because they truly are the best way to take care of so many different skills and necessary knowledge at each level.

I've had teachers who insist on multiple copies of several of the books, especially the search books, because their 5th graders fight over them.

Choose from over 1300 books created especially for children to make learning and reading FUN.

Here's a really Cool thing that Usborne does for parents.

For every $100.00 that you spend you will get $15.00 in
FREE books* of your choice. 

The dollar amount of the FREE books increases with each $50.00 increment that you spend, so the more you spend the more you get. Plus you may qualify for discounts on other books, as well.

The more you invest in your child the more Usborne invests in your child.  It's a win win situation that is a NO Brainer!

My kids need these books Now!

Internet Linked books are the newest in state of the art
learning. Read about them here and how they can
take your child's learning to a new level!

Show me some of these Internet Linked books

Monthly Specials

Discover the World of Usborne Books

...because you want to Raise Smarter Kids.

Make Your Child an Usborne Child and you'll sleep easier knowing
they are getting quality enrichment tools to last a lifetime.

* You pay a $2.00 customer fee and the tax owed on that $2.00
amount to satisfy State Tax Laws.
But you must pay S&H on the total retail amount of all the books that you are getting. 
Books are very heavy and even though Usborne charges the bare minimum for S&H,
they must still pass all of the shipping charges to the customer.

No company could publish quality books at these great prices, 
let you choose some free ones, pay all your s&h costs and stay in business.

It's still a super offer and with the 1/2 price lifetime replacement guarantee,
it is an offer that you will NOT find anywhere else.

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