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Things to Enhance Intrapersonal Intelligence in a Young Kid

by Kathryn Rateliff Barr, studioD

Your little one sits by herself, looking out the window. When you ask her what she’s doing, she simply says, “Thinking.” She’s an introspective child and comes up some interesting comments, such as, “I had a dream about monsters, but monsters aren’t real, Mommy.” You can help her enhance her intrapersonal skills to learn more about herself, finding and capitalizing on her strengths and weaknesses and her problem-solving skills.

Story Telling

Your little one is good at identifying what characters in a story feel. He could make up stories about how the person in a picture is feeling and why to help him identify his own emotions and problem-solving skills. He can tell the story using different voices for each character. He can tell a story about he did something difficult or something that he really enjoyed, including the feelings he experienced.


Meditation can help your child identify what is going on inside her head. Your child might enjoy meditating with soft music, pleasant aromas and time to think alone. She can practice breathing and listening to the thoughts in her head. She might draw the things she thinks about or use her meditation to find new ways to do things she doesn’t like, but must do. She can use meditation to help control her emotions and responses when someone makes her angry or frustrated.


Art can help your child enhance his intrapersonal intelligence. He could draw pictures that express his emotions or use the picture to problem-solve a difficult situations. He can listen to music and talk about how it makes him feel, or he might even help create a piece of music or write words to music that makes him feel good. Clay and other media might also provide the creative elements he needs to explore his strengths, weaknesses and artistic muse.

Independent Learning

Children with high intrapersonal intelligence take pride in learning things through their efforts, according to Mary Mayesky, author of “Creative Activities for Young Children.” She can watch, listen and learn new things, but might prefer that you don’t help her figure things out until she has exhausted her efforts. You can allow her to play alone, but you might provide her with create toys that encourage her imagination and some educational toys. You might provide a computer your child can work on with self-paced learning, learning games and material that challenges her abilities. You will want to install software that protects her if you let her go online or sit near her so you can observe and monitor her activities.

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