September / October 2007
Raising Harvard
Photographs by Walter Smith
When it comes to getting into Harvard, it’s a hypercompetitive jungle out there. Do you really want to know what it will take for your child to make the grade? Then read on. But be warned: Raising a Harvard-ready child requires planning, determination, discipline—and a lot of money.
Prenatal Prep
(In utero)
Gulping down vitamins, taking yoga classes, and undergoing a battery of tests is no longer an adequate prebirth plan for a pre-Harvard baby. Mothers should also monitor every substance that enters their digestive tract.
Consuming docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an Omega-3 fatty acid critical to brain development, is key. While women used to get DHA from fish, the risk of exposure to toxic PCBs and mercury eliminates that option. “Pregnant women should take vegetarian-based, algae-derived DHA supplements, says Naples, Fla.–based neurologist David Perlmutter, author of Raise a Smarter Child By Kindergarten. “It’s incredibly important in terms of IQ and brain development.”
Expectant parents may also be able to give their fetus an early advantage with the $149 BabyPlus Prenatal Education System, which teaches “sound lessons” in utero via a device resembling a terrycloth fanny pack. Its makers claim that children exposed to the BabyPlus system in the womb later demonstrate improved school readiness, greater intellectual abilities, and longer attention spans. Women are instructed to strap the BabyPlus unit onto their bellies twice daily after their 18th week of pregnancy. The “curriculum” consists of 16 lessons, each a thumping sound at differing speeds and intervals. By contrasting the daily lessons and the mother’s internal soundtrack (heartbeat, digestive groans, and other bodily functions), the fetus allegedly improves its auditory skills. “Postnatally, that’s called learning,” says Lisa Jarrett, founder of the Indianapolis company.
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