ImprovingWorkingMemory.com

Parents are used to having arguments with their children over their memory issues. How often have you had to yell at your son to pick up his room, which you’ve already asked him to do ten times, or your daughter to take care of her hair clips? But before you start yelling at your child for forgetting something that they are supposed to remember, it is a good idea to learn a bit about how the memory process for a child differs from the memory process for an adult.

Early Development

Scientists have been able to discover that a six week old infant can recall events that happened for up to twenty-four hours. This is a vast difference from what researchers used to believe, which was that children were unable to remember anything until they were eight months old. Babies remember things easier due to the fact that most of them have a routine in place. The more the routine is followed, the easier it is for the baby to do the routine and to remember other things.

Infants and toddlers have short attention spans. One moment they can be sitting and playing with you and the next they will be wandering around looking for something else to do. This actually works well when it comes to teaching your child things. If you want to teach them a new skill, do so in short sessions. Spending thirty minutes on one skill may be good for you, but it may not help a child remember what you’re trying to teach them. Instead, spread the thirty minutes out over three or four days at a time. This will make it much easier for the child’s brain to absorb the skill and to retrieve it as well.

Helping Older Children

The biggest problem that older children have with their memory is that they are unable to focus on what they are trying to learn. A child in elementary school is often thinking about everything but what they’re being taught, especially if they find the subject boring. The best way to help an older child with their memory issues is to make things fun for them.

Figuring out how they learn is also beneficial to helping them remember things. Some people are visual learners, while others learn better by hearing things. If you discover that your child learns better by hearing something, read their homework to them or have them read it to you. If you find that they learn better by reading, try to get everything in written form.

Memory Improvement Games

There are also tons of memory improvement games that you can play with children. One of the easiest is the old Memory game that is sold in almost every toy store across America. It seems like a very childish game, but in reality it allows the mind to focus and the brain muscle to get stretched. When you play Memory, even if it’s a homemade version of the game, you are giving your brain the opportunity to become better at retaining and recalling both short term and long term memory.

You can also make a game from every day errands. For instance, whenever you go to the store, ask your child to remember one item that you need to get. When you’re cooking together, make them responsible for helping you to remember your recipe. Little everyday tasks can make a big improvement on small brains, and on big ones as well!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: Memory Activities, memory development, memory improvement activities, memory improvement games