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Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten: Raise IQ by up to 30 points and turn on your child's smart genes
Nature didn’t finish your child’s brain at birth. It’s up to you to maximize your child’s mental skills without causing additional stress. Acclaimed neurologist and bestselling author of Grain Brain, David Perlmutter, MD, offers these valuable Simple games to reinforce memory pathways in the brainInformation on common household products and children’s toys that contain brain-damaging neurotoxins The right foods and supplements to boost intelligence and turn on your child’s smart genesHow to turn the television, the computer, and video games into educational toolsProven ways to reduce the risk of your child developing ADD and ADHDBetween birth and age five, your child has up to thirty IQ points at stake. Scientists now know that the human brain is undergoing a constant and dramatic transformation in the first years of life. During this peak time of development, every activity and experience leaves an indelible mark on your baby’s brain, for better or worse. The right kind of stimulation and nutrition will create connections in the brain that promote intelligence and raise IQ. The wrong kinds of activities and foods can stifle intellectual development, destroy brain cells, and leave your child more vulnerable to learning or behavior problems down the road. So, what can you do during the first five years to ensure that your child is primed to excel?The good news is that raising a smarter child is easier than you think. It doesn’t require making an investment in expensive equipment or high priced tutors. It’s as simple as playing the right games, serving the right foods, and maintaining a brain-enhancing environment in your home by eliminating common household toxins. In Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten by Dr. David Perlmutter, you’ll learn easy and highly effective strategies that can vastly improve your child’s brain power and reduce his or her chances of developing ADD and ADHD. For example, you Stimulate Changing a component on the over-the-crib mobile every week makes the baby compare what was there before to what’s there now, reinforcing memory pathways in the brain that are critical for learning.Spread out those shots: Schedule more frequent trips to the pediatrician for vaccinations, so that fewer shots are administered at once. Flooding the immune system with a cocktail of different vaccines can damage the nervous system. Get rid of Protecting a child from neurotoxins found in foods, toys and even baby bottles can help preserve precious IQ points. Inside, Dr. Perlmutter provides a scientifically backed food and supplement plan for children and nursing mothers and details the many brain-building activities that you can do with your child. In addition, he reveals the numerous toys and household products that contain harmful, brain-damaging toxins and shows how to identify and combat common childhood problems like ADD and food allergies that may affect your child’s development. Your job over the first five years is to help your child build the best brain possible. With Dr. Perlmutter’s help, you can mine the countless opportunities you have each day to make your child smarter, happier and better prepared to excel.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 5, 2006
59 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
About the author
David Perlmutter
222 books499 followersDr. Perlmutter is a Board-Certified Neurologist and four-time New York Times bestselling author. He serves on the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition.
Dr. Perlmutter received his M.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine where he was awarded the Leonard G. Rowntree Research Award. He serves as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals including Archives of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and The Journal of Applied Nutrition. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at symposia sponsored by institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, Columbia University, Scripps Institute, New York University, and Harvard University, and serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
His books have been published in 34 languages and include the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain, The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar, with over 1 million copies in print. Other New York Times bestsellers include Brain Maker, The Grain Brain Cookbook, and The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan. He is the editor of the upcoming collection The Microbiome and the Brain that will be authored by top experts in the field and will be published in late 2019 by CRC Press. He has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated television programs including 20/20, Larry King Live, CNN, Fox News, Fox and Friends, The Today Show, Oprah, The Dr. Oz Show and The CBS Early Show.
Dr. Perlmutter is also the recipient of numerous awards, including: the Linus Pauling Award for his innovative approaches to neurological disorders; the National Nutritional Foods Association Clinician of the Year Award, the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American College of Nutrition, and most recently the 2019 Global Leadership Award from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium.
Dr. Perlmutter received his M.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine where he was awarded the Leonard G. Rowntree Research Award. He serves as a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals including Archives of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and The Journal of Applied Nutrition. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at symposia sponsored by institutions such as the World Bank and IMF, Columbia University, Scripps Institute, New York University, and Harvard University, and serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
His books have been published in 34 languages and include the #1 New York Times bestseller Grain Brain, The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar, with over 1 million copies in print. Other New York Times bestsellers include Brain Maker, The Grain Brain Cookbook, and The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan. He is the editor of the upcoming collection The Microbiome and the Brain that will be authored by top experts in the field and will be published in late 2019 by CRC Press. He has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated television programs including 20/20, Larry King Live, CNN, Fox News, Fox and Friends, The Today Show, Oprah, The Dr. Oz Show and The CBS Early Show.
Dr. Perlmutter is also the recipient of numerous awards, including: the Linus Pauling Award for his innovative approaches to neurological disorders; the National Nutritional Foods Association Clinician of the Year Award, the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American College of Nutrition, and most recently the 2019 Global Leadership Award from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 11, 2013
The title is the best part of this book; it's basically catnip for parents. Unfortunately this turned out to be just another well-marketed book about not feeding your kids McDonalds and plunking them in front of the TV. A lot of the advice was pretty obvious: (Spoiler alert: be more attentive, limit TV and sugar...) I liked the section on games to play with your kid; I've started to do some memory and math games with my 2 year old, and if nothing else she seems to enjoy them.
Still, my B.S. detector was set to "moderate" throughout the book. For instance: the author recommends 200 mg of DHA for kids, and the author just happens to have a product on the market to fit that niche. I'm sure his intentions are good, but I'm naturally skeptical of the doctor-turned-merchandiser. The book was also on the fence about vaccines, suggesting that kids be given single-dose injections, but not to forgo vaccinations altogether. He offered no source to show that this technique has shown any difference in autism rates compared to control.
Still, my B.S. detector was set to "moderate" throughout the book. For instance: the author recommends 200 mg of DHA for kids, and the author just happens to have a product on the market to fit that niche. I'm sure his intentions are good, but I'm naturally skeptical of the doctor-turned-merchandiser. The book was also on the fence about vaccines, suggesting that kids be given single-dose injections, but not to forgo vaccinations altogether. He offered no source to show that this technique has shown any difference in autism rates compared to control.
January 12, 2010
Definitely worth reading if you are the parent of children under the age of 5. Two things I didn't like about this book: 1) he repeated himself a lot. I think he said "You can actually turn on your child's "smart genes" by parenting decisions you make during their early childhood" about a bajillion times. Yeah, we got that from the subtitle. Here's the thing: most parents who are concerned enough with raising a smart child that they'll elect to read a 200+ page book to tell them how to do that are probably smart enough themselves to understand the concept the first 20 times you explain it to them. He actually repeated himself a lot. I think each chapter was written to be independent (each covering a different means of raising IQ points) so when you read them in succession you hear the same things over and over again.
My second complaint is that in the nutrition chapter, he's telling you all these vitamins and nutrients that kids need, and that breastfeeding moms should be taking, and that he recommends "Dr. Perlmutter's Best DHA" or whatever it's called. Anyway, he has his own brand of supplements, and he plugs them in his book, which I guess makes sense, but makes me question just how important these things really are for my child, if he's benefiting financially by convincing me that I need them. I would have preferred him to remain unbiased.
So, those are the things I didn't like about the book, but there were things I liked. He was pretty good about giving specifics on studies that backed up his claims, and had footnotes for the sources. Also, he had some good ideas of games to play with your baby or toddler to improve their math skills (oh yeah, he said "You don't want to teach them what to think, so much as HOW to think" a few thousand times as well) anyway, and they were easily adapted to "grow" with your child, so that was good. I really loved the chapter on music, and on how physical play actually makes your child smarter. There were a lot of good ideas to put into use. So yeah, like I said, you should read it, but don't feel guilty about skimming.
My second complaint is that in the nutrition chapter, he's telling you all these vitamins and nutrients that kids need, and that breastfeeding moms should be taking, and that he recommends "Dr. Perlmutter's Best DHA" or whatever it's called. Anyway, he has his own brand of supplements, and he plugs them in his book, which I guess makes sense, but makes me question just how important these things really are for my child, if he's benefiting financially by convincing me that I need them. I would have preferred him to remain unbiased.
So, those are the things I didn't like about the book, but there were things I liked. He was pretty good about giving specifics on studies that backed up his claims, and had footnotes for the sources. Also, he had some good ideas of games to play with your baby or toddler to improve their math skills (oh yeah, he said "You don't want to teach them what to think, so much as HOW to think" a few thousand times as well) anyway, and they were easily adapted to "grow" with your child, so that was good. I really loved the chapter on music, and on how physical play actually makes your child smarter. There were a lot of good ideas to put into use. So yeah, like I said, you should read it, but don't feel guilty about skimming.
September 18, 2008
Really a waste of time! Far too preachy, and geared toward IQ more than well roundedness. The author makes some sweeping, and unfounded, generalizations about the futures of certain children, depending on how hard their parents try to raise their intelligence, that I find grossly irresponsible, and slightly offensive. I would give this less than 1 star if it was possible, and would caution any parent, or person around children, to steer clear of this book.
January 28, 2014
This book frustrated me. Perlmutter continuously makes fallacious arguments. Actually, he repeats the same one countless times throughout: Watch out for X, it's associated with Y and we all know you don't want that!
There were moments where I knew there had to be more to the story or he could have clarified the cited study instead of leaving the argument in a tenuous spot.
My huge gripe was in the nutrition chapter where I can safely say he's woefully ignorant. I slogged through it, however, thinking it's highly likely he'd disagree with himself at this point in time. GrainBrain is on my shelf to be read later this year and the title tells me his nutritional awareness has advanced significantly in the last 7 years to the point of perhaps changing his tune some. In short, you can skip that chapter.
His quasi-advocacy for the link between immunizations and autism are indefensible.
The benefit to this book comes in the early chapters about activities and games. Read and follow what he says.
His views on TV, DVDs, and screen time parrot the American Academy of Pediatrics which is great if you're below say +2 SD as a parent on the distribution. If you're wise or at least educated, you'll know where the AAP's position is weak and why. I never really thought it was all that profound, but in reading this book, I might be wrong. For this reason, I will likely augment this review with a blog post on the subject and put a link below.
There were moments where I knew there had to be more to the story or he could have clarified the cited study instead of leaving the argument in a tenuous spot.
My huge gripe was in the nutrition chapter where I can safely say he's woefully ignorant. I slogged through it, however, thinking it's highly likely he'd disagree with himself at this point in time. GrainBrain is on my shelf to be read later this year and the title tells me his nutritional awareness has advanced significantly in the last 7 years to the point of perhaps changing his tune some. In short, you can skip that chapter.
His quasi-advocacy for the link between immunizations and autism are indefensible.
The benefit to this book comes in the early chapters about activities and games. Read and follow what he says.
His views on TV, DVDs, and screen time parrot the American Academy of Pediatrics which is great if you're below say +2 SD as a parent on the distribution. If you're wise or at least educated, you'll know where the AAP's position is weak and why. I never really thought it was all that profound, but in reading this book, I might be wrong. For this reason, I will likely augment this review with a blog post on the subject and put a link below.
July 8, 2014
This was A gift from a well meaning grandparent, but I found it a little tiring... So far most things ( like teaching your kids that they can manipulate their environment) are all things my twins managed to figure without the recommended exercises--and most exercise are more or less some version of things you probably already do if you are actively interacting with your kid.... And if you are the type of parent to read a parenting book on iq, then your probably already proactive enough to sing to/ read to/ play peekaboo with/ point out animal names to your child
December 3, 2020
I rarely write book reviews, but I bought this book expecting information from a reputable expert about how to help my kid and was horribly disappointed, so I feel a responsibility to tell others.
Aside from the occasional sales pitches for the author's own products throughout the book (shady, but ... I'm willing to cut some slack), and the lack of citations for broad statements such as, "many researches believe..." (what researchers? can we get a source?), I have to draw the line when the author talks about vaccines (in particular, thimerosal) as a cause for the "surge in cases" of autism.
Given how much work has gone into investigating this topic (and that immense body of research disagreeing with the author's stance), it's tough for me to take anything about this book seriously. People around the world are scared about how best to care for their kids, and having this author contradicting doctors' (and the CDC's) guidelines about how to do so (with no evidence to back it up) is not what we need from a parenting book.
And unfortunately, these types of assertions (without citations) leave me wondering how much of what's written in this book is real research versus anecdotal guesswork with no formal evidence to back it up. Some of the author's suggestions and recommendations seem really smart and reasonable, but how can we tell whether it's just something that sounded good to the author, but is really nothing more than a best guess about whether it works? I usually just trust that someone with "M.D." after their name has done their homework, but I suppose, sadly, that's not possible anymore.
Keep in mind, I'm not a doctor. I don't know whether the stuff in this book works or not. I do know that authors should cite their sources as justification for their recommendations, and this author does so only sparingly. Further, in at least one instance, the author asserts something the medical community generally disagrees with [1]. If, in this case, the author DID cite some compelling research to justify these views, that'd be a totally different thing, but that doesn't appear to be the case here.
In short, too much of this book is recommendations from someone with an M.D. citing justification and evidence that appears to be nothing more than, "Trust me, I read it on Facebook." I don't have room on my shelf for this, so I'll be throwing it in the garbage.
Sources:
[1]: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/con...
Aside from the occasional sales pitches for the author's own products throughout the book (shady, but ... I'm willing to cut some slack), and the lack of citations for broad statements such as, "many researches believe..." (what researchers? can we get a source?), I have to draw the line when the author talks about vaccines (in particular, thimerosal) as a cause for the "surge in cases" of autism.
Given how much work has gone into investigating this topic (and that immense body of research disagreeing with the author's stance), it's tough for me to take anything about this book seriously. People around the world are scared about how best to care for their kids, and having this author contradicting doctors' (and the CDC's) guidelines about how to do so (with no evidence to back it up) is not what we need from a parenting book.
And unfortunately, these types of assertions (without citations) leave me wondering how much of what's written in this book is real research versus anecdotal guesswork with no formal evidence to back it up. Some of the author's suggestions and recommendations seem really smart and reasonable, but how can we tell whether it's just something that sounded good to the author, but is really nothing more than a best guess about whether it works? I usually just trust that someone with "M.D." after their name has done their homework, but I suppose, sadly, that's not possible anymore.
Keep in mind, I'm not a doctor. I don't know whether the stuff in this book works or not. I do know that authors should cite their sources as justification for their recommendations, and this author does so only sparingly. Further, in at least one instance, the author asserts something the medical community generally disagrees with [1]. If, in this case, the author DID cite some compelling research to justify these views, that'd be a totally different thing, but that doesn't appear to be the case here.
In short, too much of this book is recommendations from someone with an M.D. citing justification and evidence that appears to be nothing more than, "Trust me, I read it on Facebook." I don't have room on my shelf for this, so I'll be throwing it in the garbage.
Sources:
[1]: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/con...
November 7, 2023
Güzel bir rehber kitap olduğunu düşünüyorum. Anne karnından itibaren çocuklara bebeklere, yaş grubuna uygun şekilde nasıl davranılması ve beslenmesi gerektiğini açıklıyor Ve bunların da çocuğun zekasına nasıl etki edeceğini anlatıyor. Müzik dinlemekten ziyade müzikle uğraşmanın, beraber kitap okumanın hafıza oyunlarının, rutinlerin, beslenmedeki sağlıklı yağların ve diğer besinlerin, kimyasal maruziyetini azaltmanın olumlu etkilerini anlatıyor. Kimyasal maruziyetini azaltma yöntemlerinden de detaylı bahsetmiş yazar. Hatta çocuk hastalıkları ve bunlarda kullanılan ilaçların etkilerine, çok tartışılan aşı konusuna da güzel ve açıklayıcı şekilde değinmiş yazar. İlk 2 yaşta ekran önermemekle birlikte bu yaştan sonra ekran maruziyeti ve 3 yaş sonrası bilgisayar eğitimine başlayabileceği hatta başlanması gerekliliğine de eleştirel, gerçekçi ve yenilikçi bi bakış açışıyla yaklaşmış.
August 20, 2022
A bit out of date. But very informative and educational.
May 7, 2024
I'm a huge fan of Dr. Perlmutter -- his books about brain, gut, and heart health are fantastic -- and this one is full of helpful info for children. Love it!!
January 25, 2025
A great book for parents who are in search of activities for toddlers. The author also has a chapter on nutrition and toxins . The chapter about music was also very insightful
November 28, 2025
Practical. Short and sweet. I particularly found a lot of the recommendations on diet, music and adhd helpful.
September 17, 2019
Có nhiều ý tưởng như quyển Whole Brain Child
1. Bộ não của trẻ em có thể thay đổi và nhào nặn.
2. Không cho trẻ xem/ hạn chế xem Tv / smart devices chỉ 1 tiếng 1 ngày.
3. Không ăn quá nhiều đường.
4. Tập thể thao.
5. Chơi những trò chơi rèn luyện phát triển trí não.
1. Bộ não của trẻ em có thể thay đổi và nhào nặn.
2. Không cho trẻ xem/ hạn chế xem Tv / smart devices chỉ 1 tiếng 1 ngày.
3. Không ăn quá nhiều đường.
4. Tập thể thao.
5. Chơi những trò chơi rèn luyện phát triển trí não.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2008
A must read for parents of children 5 or younger!
The suggestions for activities to "build better brains" seemed very easy and common sense. The most interesting (and some pretty frightening) things I learned from reading this book were about the effects of watching tv, playing video games, diet, and environment on brain development. The "toxins" sections made me wonder if there was such a thing as a "toxins" inspector who could come to your house and test the water, paint, soil, grass, toys, and any other place that might hide these these "dangerous" chemicals. If they are potentially damaging to brain development, I can't imagine that toxins like PVC, lead, herbicides and PCB's would be great for the rest of our body's cells either.
I checked this book out of the library, but I am planning on buying one to keep it as a reference.
Afterthought: I did ask my pediatrician about her thoughts on the info in this book, and she didn't put much stock in some of it. First of all, she had never heard of the author. Second of all, the fact that there were no footnotes referring to actual studies lead her to believe that the book could be based partly on observations rather than thorough studies. I would still recommend this book, but I will now take it all with a grain of salt.
The suggestions for activities to "build better brains" seemed very easy and common sense. The most interesting (and some pretty frightening) things I learned from reading this book were about the effects of watching tv, playing video games, diet, and environment on brain development. The "toxins" sections made me wonder if there was such a thing as a "toxins" inspector who could come to your house and test the water, paint, soil, grass, toys, and any other place that might hide these these "dangerous" chemicals. If they are potentially damaging to brain development, I can't imagine that toxins like PVC, lead, herbicides and PCB's would be great for the rest of our body's cells either.
I checked this book out of the library, but I am planning on buying one to keep it as a reference.
Afterthought: I did ask my pediatrician about her thoughts on the info in this book, and she didn't put much stock in some of it. First of all, she had never heard of the author. Second of all, the fact that there were no footnotes referring to actual studies lead her to believe that the book could be based partly on observations rather than thorough studies. I would still recommend this book, but I will now take it all with a grain of salt.
July 15, 2012
Some times I felt this was written by a pediatrician rather than a neurologist; a lot of it is common sense to a parent of a 4 year old like me.
Other advice like teaching your child a second language, starting music lessons at age 4, and avoiding chicken nuggets are impractical applications for me & my 4 year old.
I did enjoy the toy, TV, and book advice. As well as the activities I can start now with my 1 year old.
Other advice like teaching your child a second language, starting music lessons at age 4, and avoiding chicken nuggets are impractical applications for me & my 4 year old.
I did enjoy the toy, TV, and book advice. As well as the activities I can start now with my 1 year old.
October 14, 2012
I got this from the library because I thought it wouldn't take long to read it (I was right) and because I thought perhaps I might learn something (maybe). I am not an anxious parent using flashcards to get my kids ahead, so most of the activities here didn't appeal to me. I think parents of babies need to relax and not worry about whether they're doing enough. Most likely, if you're asking that question, you already are.
June 24, 2008
Wow, if you have children you NEED to read this book!!! It helps educate and increase awareness about keeping our little ones safe and healthy. It is really up to the parent to maximize your child's physical and mental growth and keep things out of their lives that hinder that growth. This pediatric neurologist is right on the money in my opinion!
September 9, 2008
Stupid title and the book isn't much better. He has a really bossy tone and talks a lot about environmental toxins that you can't do anything about which is just depressing. It does have some good information but I got really annoyed when he started promoting his own line of vitamins and supplements!
Want to read
March 19, 2009I feel bad about reading this book, because I want my child to pursue her own route (and I can already imagine her despair, disdain, and disgust at finding this book on my shelves when she is fourteen), but I can't seem to help myself from trying to give her everything I can.... Advice(i.e., am I a bad mother for reading this sort of thing?)?
June 27, 2011
This book is for people who know nothing about kids or chemicals or health. Most of the games are intuitive--I would have played them with my baby anyway, the get-the-chemicals-out is great but I've been getting chemicals out of my house for years anyway and the eat-well-and-exercise, well, again, I do that anyway.
April 27, 2012
Stupid title and lots of dumb stuff to wade through, but some fun games and other suggested activities. Only read because it was available as an ebook from the library and the book I was looking for wasn't. Still, worth skimming the chapters in play and reading (more for activity ideas than to raise your child's iq).
July 12, 2016
A terrific book if you have a child whose 5 or under. I especially enjoyed the sections on reading and music. Perlmutter recommends interactive reading with your child, such as asking the child questions while reading a picture book. I also found the music section fascinating, and that music can enhance verbal skills, memory and the understanding of mathematical concepts. Really neat!
April 19, 2007
I'm not one of those parents trying to raise my one year old's IQ. I just wanted to know about brain food and developmental games I could play with her. I found that here, and was able to skim the book quickly to find it.
June 6, 2008
It was repetitive at times, but provided great ideas for educational games, and better habits for healthy brain smart eatting. Not that I'll probably change what I'm doing now, it was all very informative.
December 10, 2010
This book was interesting to read with a lot of tips on how to "play" with your child. The author emphasizes that play time with your child is actually learning time with them, too and provides explanations on the games you can play with your child.
April 24, 2011
I won't be able to protect Roland Hikaru from all the toxic substances, situations and events that Dr. Perlmutter outlines in his book but I can try to minimize his exposure to them. It reassures me though, that we are already implementing a lot of advice Perlmutter offers.
January 30, 2016
The title irritates me, as it seems to play into our obsession with pushing kids to achieve academically at young ages, but Perlmutter is a neurologist and the book is actually about nutrition and activities which encourage healthy brain development in children.
August 9, 2014
There was nothing here that I hadn't read before, but someone may pick this book up and get a lot out of it. I did like the games to play with infants: sometimes I find myself wondering what else to do with my daughter, and this is a nice grab bag of activities.
August 11, 2016
3-stars instead of four or five due to outdated nutrition advice on saturated fats and related (excluding the emphasis on DHA/omega-3 essential fatty acid--good info there). All the other material makes this book an excellent how-to and WHEN-TO guide for raising child through their first few years.
August 30, 2007
Great book, very recommended. I haven't finish reading the whole thing, tough.
March 22, 2008
Still pick this up as a reference and it is jammed pack with info. regarding health, etc. of children. It is a worthwile purchase and is now offered in paperback.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews