Unleash Your Child's Hidden Genius: 5 Brain Hacks Parents Must Know

How to raise self-driven kids who love learning.

Good afternoon, friends! Welcome to the ReadVault Club. I'm Tom Niklas, a seasoned writer and book reviewer. Please subscribe to me and join us in reading 52 books a year together.

Today I will talk about a best-selling book called "The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives."

The lack of self-motivation has become a widespread social phenomenon and problem. In the workplace, we see young employees who lack self-motivation and can only be motivated by bonuses and stock options. However, these people don't last long.

The last chapter of this book is about children going to college. It tells us that after all the hard work of raising a child, there will come a day when they will leave home to go to college. And when they go to college, you will find that without external constraints, they will completely let loose. So if they haven't become a self-motivated child, it will be the biggest loss of their life.

We should think about this, is sending our children to college the end of our education? Do we think that by stuffing our children into a prestigious school, we can be satisfied and end all this? Think about it, after college, they will still have a long life to face. And if they don't have a sense of participation in the whole process and become an empty shell, they won't know what they want and will only do what others tell them to do. So what is the purpose of sending our children to college?

After careful consideration, it can be observed that many parents pressure their children to attend college for the sake of their own egos. They just feel that their children should go to a better school.

Therefore, let us use this book to return to the essence of education and understand how to cultivate a child's inner drive and self-discipline. I believe this is very important for all families, organizations, and businesses.

First up, we need to ditch these four common parenting myths that are holding us back:

The first myth is that the path to success is a single-plank bridge, and children must not be squeezed down by others. This is why everyone is trying their best to get into a prestigious school. This is wrong because we have said many times that life is a complex process, not a simple one. Children cannot be pieced together like a car and then be able to run, right?

The second myth is that if you want to have a good life, you must have excellent performance in school. Too many children are forced too anxiously so that they just give up all the opportunities they can try.

The third myth is that the harder we push our children, the more successful they will be and the more promising they will be when they grow up. Many parents only see how many certificates their children get in the short term, but in the long run, 10 or 20 years later, you will find that the damage and loss of motivation caused to these children is immeasurable.

The fourth myth is that today's world is much more dangerous than before, and parents must always keep a close eye on their children to ensure that they are not harmed or get into trouble. Today's society is much safer than before. The overall crime rate is declining sharply, the overall safety is constantly improving. It's just that our vision has narrowed, and we've been scared by the news, so we've become helicopter parents. Parents are constantly hovering over their children's heads.

These are the four myths that commonly exist in parents' minds today.

The most important and valuable part of this book is to teach us that we need to understand our brains.

What is the key factor in making decisions in a child's brain?

The three most important parts of regulating stress and controlling impulses are:

The prefrontal cortex is the most important part of the human brain that distinguishes us from other animals. It is the part of the brain that develops language, logic, and reasoning. This part of the brain is called the "navigator."

If you are using your prefrontal cortex to make decisions and guide your life, you are calm, rational, and able to control and restrain yourself. This part of the brain has one characteristic: it goes offline when under too much stress.

A simple example is when you are arguing with someone or feeling angry, you can't speak. Why can't you speak? Because the stress is too much, the prefrontal cortex goes offline. This is the characteristic of the prefrontal cortex. It is the calm and rational navigator, but the problem is that it goes offline when under too much stress.

If the prefrontal cortex goes offline, who takes over? The amygdala will take over, it is located in the middle back of the brain. We have mentioned the amygdala in many books. The amygdala is like a warrior. It is emotional.

You will find that when children are under too much stress if they give up control of the prefrontal cortex, they become irritable. They may yell, or they may not say a word and fall into silence or violence.

What is the reason? At this moment, their brains are controlled by the amygdala. And if they are under too much stress, and the stress is continuous and long-term, the amygdala will secrete more stress hormones.