Thai kids rank 'below average' on world IQ ranking
The average intelligence quotient (IQ) of Thai children, between 87 and 88 points, remains in the "low average" category when ranked internationally, Vice Minister for Education Watchara Phanchet said yesterday.
He was speaking at a seminar on how to boost the intelligence of Thai children and was citing a survey conducted in 2002. "We have to develop children both intellectually and physically because they are our country's future," Watchara said. More than 800 educators, health professionals, parents and representatives of a network for disadvantaged children attended the seminar held by the Mental Health Department's Rajanukul Institute. The 2002 survey found only 80 per cent of children under five years old had normal visual, muscular and touch-perception development, he said. It also found the average IQ of children between six and 12 was 87 points. The average IQ for children between 13 and 18 was 88, the study found. In a 2001 survey, children from six to 12 were found to have low levels of patience, discipline, concentration and self-reliance, while those between 13 and 18 had insufficient creativity, analytical ability, conscience, problem-solving skills and emotional control. Watchara said these problems were the result of parents leaving teachers in charge of their children's development. Teachers are not trained to maximise children's potential at the right age, he said. "We plan to raise Thai children's [average] IQ to at least 100 by 2008," he said. Mental Health Department chief ML Somchai Chakraphan said those with IQs in the 70 to 79 point range were in a borderline group as an IQ below 70 points signalled mental disability. In a bid to boost children's IQ, Somchai said his department last year launched a five-year intellectual development plan for children in 20 provinces. "We have passed on useful know-how to nursery and kindergarten teachers," he said. Somchai said mothers could boost their children's IQ by eating nutritious food during pregnancy and stimulating their children's development at the right age. "Some parents tend to carry their babies in their arms all the time out of concern that they might fall and hurt themselves. "That's not right. If it's time for your babies to start crawling or running, let them do so because it encourages their development," he said.
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