Public Health Minister concerned with IQ drop among Thai children

[Homeropec]

Don't worry minister, they will become excellent politicians......................

This can explain why coups and other acts affecting basic principles and rights are tolerated here.

[Globalist]

One has to assume that the IQ tests were of international standards and therefore correct.

The practice of letting children be raised by farmer grandparents in the countryside might be good for their physical health (less pollution), but it doesn't really enable them to develop their full mental potential.

In addition, the primary school teachers in the countryside are more likely to be of the "old school" rote-type than teachers in Bangkok. The irony is that the parents may be living and working in Bangkok where the schools could be fine, while their kids are at inferior schools in the countryside.

Of course, the root causes of placing kids with grandparents need to be tackled. Bad university education for future teachers, and low minimum wage come to mind as two possibilities.

Then there's the additional potential risk of iodine sufficiency due to limited salt intake in Thailand.

[Traveling Sailor]

Long way to go before it gets into negative, so nothing to worry about.

90-109 is average or normal intelligence.

80-89 in considered Dullness.

I have seen a lot of rural kids in the 80-89 catagory. The lights are on but nobody is home. A real shame.

[h90]

My understanding is that IQ is largely inherited.

It is still interesting why it may be dropping.

IQ tests are nit all that god anyway, increasingly poor education may have something to do with it, as the questions on these tests need to be interpreted by the testee, and depending on the tests the student may not have the skills to do that.

In different parts of the world this fact is recognised, so the IQ tests take different forms.

Two problems: stupid people get lots of children, smart one, just 1, 2 or none. But that is a long term problem.

The other problem the brain needs training, like a muscle.

How strong you are is determined by your genetic, by your food and how much you train. Considering that the food has not much influence it is the training. Maybe sitting from early morning till night in front of the TV with soap operas isn't the best thing.

Looking at some of the comments here I guess that the writers grew up in families with lots of siblings and that includes you. Your last sentence only shows how serious you take your thesis ‘Maybe sitting from early morning till night in front of the TV with soap operas isn't the best thing’ since I don’t now many people in rural regions of our country who could afford that.

Down in the south, ALL the kids look soap operas in every free minute....they neither work something, nor learning something. Obviously there they can afford it and I am sure in other parts of Thailand it isn't different. In Bangkok often both parents work and the kid stays with the grandma and look TV all the day