It’s not often that a single book can be found that offers practical and sensible advice on child-rearing, but Jennie Segar’s 154-page MAXIMISE YOUR CHILD’S PERFORMANCE is one such book. To be sure, Segar – a nanny, governess, tutor, and mother of two – tends to overstate her case. She opens with the claim that “Children’s intelligence and subsequent performance academically are malleable, in other words, they can be increased, regardless of a child’s genetic makeup or socioeconomic background.” However, pretty much all data from behavioral genetics and IQ studies (the latter extending back over a century) shows that this is not true. Even so, within the limits of IQ and genetic predispositions and even socioeconomic status, most of Segar’s advice can be applied to all children. “My goal in this book is to provide parents and carers with a concise description of specific actions that can do in 10 key areas to maximise their child’s learning,” she writes.
MAXIMISE YOUR CHILD’S PERFORMANCE is divided into ten chapters that deal with topics ranging from games and sports that improve academic performance, to music training and instruments, to nutrition to play. Segar supports her advice with scientific studies and, although she understand the limits of such research, she is sometimes still misled by them. (For example, in noting that children who play with building blocks in their early years do better at mathematics later, she omits to mention that this effect is found almost exclusively for boys.) Despite the brevity of each chapter, Segar provides detailed instructions on how to implement her suggested measures. She also acknowledges that every child is different and that the parent is the best judge of what will or will not work for their particular child. She caters for different financial statuses, although her assertion that such measures work for even lower-SES children is, again, not supported by the data, save in the sense that, in developed nations, high IQ does override socioeconomic limitations.
Given this, it is the first chapter which is key for parents, since it is based on Segar’s personal experience rather than studies. Here, she explains what has worked for her as a parent and as a tutor. This will not apply to all, or even most parents, since she has two high-IQ children (her son built his own gaming computer before he was 15 years old).
Jennie Segar’s 154-page MAXIMISE YOUR CHILD’S PERFORMANCE is chock-full of practical advice on child-rearing and her approach will help most parents build good relationships with their children – a worthwhile goal in itself.
~Kevin Baldeosingh for IndieReader