Gesturing with hands, an intelligence signal in children
The behaviors of children can tell us a lot about how they really are. Not only some obvious examples, such as sharing with your friends as evidence of a high capacity for empathy. A study published in Developmental Psychology indicates that hand gesturing is a sign of a high intelligence in the smallest.
This study shows that gesturing with hands helps children develop their thoughts and thus enhance their reasoning ability. An invitation not to restrict those children who for example have their hands, using these tips to solve mathematical operations such as addition or subtraction.
Gesturing with your hands makes thinking easier
In this study, a total of 41 children between 2 and 6 years of age. All of them had to face different tests with cards ranging from the order by color of images of rabbits to the distribution by shapes of several objects present in sheets. They were also asked to classify reproductions of bears according to their size.
The results showed that those children who gesticulated with their hands when facing the challenge, they had better results. An example was the children who established a relationship between the sizes using their fingers, or these extremities to establish the direction of the animals in the cards they had to organize according to the orientation of the drawing.
Patricia Miller, lead author of this study, pointed out that this fact shows that gesticulation helps children develop their thoughts. At these ages the cognitive capacity of the little ones is not so developed, so that their hands fulfill the function of support to connect the points that are in their mind. Therefore, in situations such as using fingers to keep track of addition or subtraction, this action must be allowed in order for the child to develop this mathematical ability.
Ultimately the researchers specified that the gesticulation while solving an enigma is a sign that the mind of the child is working, an activity that translates into their hands. Allowing children to solve their problems through these actions meant greater success in the intellectual tasks faced by children.
Power the intelligence of children
Not only does gesticulation help children develop their intelligence. There are other methods that can be applied in the day to day that equally and that contribute to the improvement of the Intelectual skills:
- Games that encourage your imagination. When playing, imagination must be free to allow children to form a world of fun in their heads with which to encourage their mental activity.
- Adapted hobbies. Hobbies involve resolving conflicts. A challenge to which a solution must be applied. Many of them are adapted to children, such as the resolution of labyrinths where the exit is to be found.
- Memory games. A good example is the dance and the choreographies that make it up, to make the child remember the steps of this will not only encourage your memory but also make the connection of the brain with the extremities better.
Damián Montero
