Comment Re:Instead of likening things to rocket science (Score 5, Insightful) 530
If you don't nurture them then yes they don't grow. You don't have to force things on them but rather encourage their natural want to learn.
Now having a child (3 years old at the moment) i'm amazed at how quick they can learn, and feel sorry for children who's Parents don't interact with them and teach them. Too many parents want the schools to do everything for them, yet it is what they do outside of school which has the greatest impact to what they learn.
We are lucky, we don't say "Damn, I wasn't that dumb when I was that age!" instead my wife and I both go "Damn, he is smart, smarter than either of us at that age." and as long as we keep constantly feed him new ideas and information and reinforce it he will continue to be smarter than we were or are.
Again, just for the soapbox, the fact that children on average are getting "dumber" is completely the fault of their Parents.