Many parents who want to support their child’s intellectual growth feel pressure to buy the right educational toy, download the best app, or invest in pricey activity workbooks. According to early literacy expert Melissa McCall, however, nurturing a child’s IQ at home is far more straightforward than most people assume. McCall, who holds a master’s degree in pedagogy and special education and trains both educators and families in the science of reading, spoke about this topic with Newsweek. Her message was both reassuring and grounded in how the developing brain actually works.
“I often get asked: What can I do with my child at home?” McCall told Newsweek. “Ultimately, the best way to build intelligence is to talk, sing, read, and play with your child from the day they are born.” She explained that these everyday interactions are deeply rooted in how young brains develop and grow. “Meaningful, repeated connections and strong relationships build the foundation for all future learning,” she said.
The first thing McCall encourages parents to do is read to their children early, often, and in all kinds of settings. Rather than saving story time strictly for bedtime, she suggests weaving books into many parts of the day, from audiobooks during car rides to bath time books or stories shared over a snack. “Honestly, by then we’re all exhausted,” she noted about the bedtime-only approach, adding that “the more exposure, the better.” This shift in mindset removes the pressure of routine and makes reading feel accessible throughout the entire day.
McCall also urges parents not to overlook nonfiction when choosing books for their children. While picture books are wonderful, she points out that informational or nonfiction titles play an equally important role in brain development. “Reading nonfiction sparks curiosity and leads to greater vocabulary growth and deeper conversations about the world around us,” she explained. “When children can connect what they learn to the real world, learning accelerates.” This kind of reading helps children build knowledge that extends beyond the page and applies to their everyday experiences.
Singing together is another activity that McCall highlights as more powerful than it might appear on the surface. Far from being just a fun pastime, singing actively supports the development of early reading skills. “Songs are based on repetition and strengthen phonological awareness, which is crucial for future reading success,” she said. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that children who regularly took part in singing and rhythm-based musical activities showed notably stronger phonological awareness skills, including the ability to recognize rhymes, break words down into sounds, and mentally manipulate those sounds, all of which are essential building blocks for learning to read.
Conversation is another tool that McCall considers among the most powerful available to any parent. She pointed to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, which found that frequent back-and-forth exchanges between parents and children are linked to larger and more active language areas in the brain. Researchers in that study also discovered that it is not the sheer number of words children hear that matters most for cognitive growth, but rather the quality of the interaction, specifically how much genuine two-way communication takes place. “Those back-and-forth discussions are what truly develop the brain,” McCall emphasized, encouraging parents to pause during shared reading and give their children space to work through their own thoughts.
Play rounds out McCall’s list of simple but scientifically supported strategies. “Play nurtures curiosity and draws on the natural way children learn,” she said. She advises parents to fill the home with open-ended toys that do not rely heavily on electronics and to intentionally combine different toys in ways that inspire creativity. McCall also recommended that parents put their phones away during playtime so they can be fully present with their children, because that quality of attention matters enormously to a child’s development.
Above all, McCall stresses that parents should let go of the pressure to do everything perfectly. Fixating on the most expensive materials or the latest program often gets in the way of taking the simpler, more impactful steps. “The most important things are your presence, your voice, and your attention,” she concluded. “Everyday moments are the ones that shape the brain.”
It is worth noting that intelligence in children is generally understood to encompass a range of cognitive abilities, including memory, problem-solving, language, and reasoning. Child development researchers have long established that the early years, from birth through age five, represent a critical window of brain plasticity, during which neural connections form at a faster rate than at any other point in life. Phonological awareness, which refers to a child’s ability to hear and work with the sounds of spoken language, is widely regarded as one of the strongest predictors of later reading ability and academic success. Studies consistently show that the home learning environment, including how often parents talk, read, and engage interactively with their children, has a significant and lasting impact on a child’s cognitive and language development over time.
If any of these strategies have worked for you or your family, feel free to share your experiences and thoughts in the comments.
