What intestinal bacteria can say about your child's intelligence

The future is uncertain, but there are small clues that can indicate the path a child will follow. Details that allow the experts to make a forecast of the evolution of the same, as for example the stools that are in the diapers of the smallest and that allow to assess how it will be their cognitive development and the capabilities related to it.

This is what the study published in Biological Psychiatry who has found a relationship between intestinal bacteria found in children's stools and the level of intelligence that they could reach in the future. A curious result that can help to apply early therapies to alleviate the effects of a minor cognitive development in the smallest.


What intestinal flora can tell

Those responsible for this study analyzed the stools of a control group made up of a group of 89 babies of one year. The researchers separated into three groups the intestinal bacteria they were looking for: Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium or Ruminococcacaea. After a first analysis, they were allowed to spend about 12 months before executing the second one.

In this new round several tests were carried out in order to evaluate their cognitive development. The valuation used was the Mullen Early Learning Scale where they analyzed the evolution of parameters such as motor skills, language ability or perception of the environment of children. The results of this new analysis were put in common with the level of intestinal bacteria found in the first phase.


In this way, a significant relationship between the results of the second test and the type, and quantity, of predominant bacteria in the stool. Those with a higher number of Bacteroides had the highest scores, while, on the other hand, children with more Faecalibacterium in their feces got fewer points.

Stimulate the baby

Parents can also influence the baby's cognitive development through stimulation. Several exercises help the More smalls can reach a good level in this regard:

- Find dad and mom with their voices. From birth, the baby's auditory sense is highly developed and can perfectly recognize the voice of mom and also of dad. To stimulate your language, it is important that you talk to him, the more the better.

- Repeat your name and identify yourself by saying "I am a mom", "I am a dad". The tone and melody you use is essential. The child is more sensitive to high-pitched sounds than to low-pitched ones. From her crib, the baby can locate the sound source and try to turn her face towards her.


- Sing lullabies. The word is recorded in the left hemisphere, which is responsible for language, writing and logic. On the other hand, the melody does it in the right hemisphere, where the artistic part develops. If throughout the day you combine the words with the songs that you sing, you will be favoring the development of the two cerebral hemispheres, to achieve a good balance between them and you will enhance their intelligence.

- Photographs of the parents. You can take advantage of the moments when the baby is in the crib to place drawings or photographs of the parents on both sides of the crib, hanging inside the bars at the height of his face. It will keep you entertained, especially when you are more restless or mom or dad are not at home.

Damián Montero

Video: How Bacteria Rule Over Your Body – The Microbiome


Interesting Articles

Being a mother increases productivity

Being a mother increases productivity

Reconciling work and family life It is the great challenge of many families and a problem for many companies. Although today many mothers manage to combine work and family effectively, in the...

The accent and the tonality when learning languages

The accent and the tonality when learning languages

Music is a good ally when it comes to teaching our children to grasp the different sounds related to human language. The different tones offered by the musical pieces will help them to capture...