Memory is an essential component for building a solid base for learning. Sharp memory skills can help your child to perform better and achieve better results at school and beyond. And, even though many adults believe that people have good recall abilities or not, they probably don’t take into account that one’s memory skills can be developed and improved the more they are used just like any other skill!
Add these simple habits in your routine and help your child boost his or her brainpower!
#1: ASK QUESTIONS
If you want to have a long-term impact on your child’s memory development, ask him many questions about past events and try to get specifics details about them. Encourage him to list and explain what he saw, what he liked the most and the least, etc.
#2: PLAY MEMORY-BOOSTING GAMES
Many games can help you to build recollection skills in your child. Picture bingo, matching pairs and other cards games, for example, can improve his memory in two different ways cause he will need to keep the rules of the game in mind while remembering what cards he and other people have played. Also, “What’s Missing in the tray?” (hiding one of the toys you showed him before) and “I Went Shopping and I bought…” (in which everyone has a turn adding an item and repeating the ones said previously) work perfectly in this because they require both concentration and thinking skills.
#3: ESTABLISH ROUTINES
Young children thrive on routines, and they are the perfect tools for enhancing their memory. Parents can help their child grouping the activities into a single action as a strategy to organize complex information. For example, the lunchtime routine of washing hands, eating and brushing teeth can be visualized as a single activity to increase the probability that your child will engage in all three behaviors and complete these task each day automatically. Furthermore, having a regular daily routine helps children learn structure and stay focused on learning throughout the day.
#4: GET YOUR CHILD A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Sleeping well at night, and long enough plays an essential role in the consolidation of memory, both before and after learning a new task. Researchers claim that sleep helps learning and memory in two different ways: it not only helps children focus attention optimally but also enhances the learning process and contribute to consolidating memory, which is essential for learning new information.