When children can remember activities or things that are happening around them, it will help them to learn better. Those learnings will be stored in their memory, which they can use to connect with their new experiences that potentially can aid them in their daily lives.
As we grow, we learn and develop different skill sets. A good memory is required for the child to remember all the skills that they have learnt and for them to apply the skills sets accordingly based on their needs. This will help them towards future success.
Preschool children begin to recognize basic things they learn such as colours, numbers and letters as these memories are stored in their minds. As time passes and the information are being fed to them repeatedly, the information that are stored in their short-term memory will switch to record it in their long-term memory. After that, they will be able to extract all these information from their memory to be used in their daily lives. For instance, when you point at the colour green, the children should be able to answer it immediately without any hesitation. The more they learn, the children will soon be able to learn to remember useful information that can be useful in the future, such as, their own name, what their parents look like, their favourite toy and food, etc. Information such as, their teacher’s uniform 3 days ago, food that was eaten 2 days ago may be eliminated from their memory.
Children should learn to identify information that needs to be remembered and stored in their memory. Therefore, when we want our child to learn and remember certain things, we have to ensure that they are paying attention and understand why it’s important for them to learn and remember these things.
In addition, memories are built in the brain when things are being done repeatedly1. Hence, if we want to get the children to remember certain things, repetition helps them to remember. This can be applied when we are teaching them a new word. When the children listen to the word, their brain will remember and use the word as part of their communication in the future.
Below are a few recommended activities that you can carry out with your children to help them develop better memory:
Recommended activities for children 1 year and above. |
The Details |
Create a routine |
Parents can set tasks for their children to do in their daily routine - from the moment the children wake up until the moment they go to sleep. This will help the children to remember things that they need to do every day such as, making their own bed, going to sleep, washing their face, brushing their teeth, having a meal, etc. |
Teach them to keep their toys |
Parents often expect their children to keep their own toys after playing with them. But this doesn’t happen by itself. Parents must put this habit into practice with their children since young by making it fun and easy for the them to follow. For example, parents can tell the children to remember the designated space for the toy to be stored at. Parents may also stick a picture of the toy on the specific drawer to aid them in this process. This will help the children to remember and follow what they are being told to do. When the children have kept everything properly, parents may praise or reward them once in a while to encourage them in keeping this habit. |
Memory training through photos |
This game enhances memory and language development. Parents may show a series of animal photos such as a cat, horse, bird and dog while introducing them to the sounds or actions that each of the animal makes. You can then question the children about the animals and see if they can remember which animal can ‘bark’ and which one can ‘fly’. The children will retrieve information that are stored in their brain to answer the questions that are being asked. |
Play hidden object game |
Prepare 3 solid colored cups and a small toy that can be hidden underneath the cups. Then, cover the using one of the solid colored cups. Proceed to switch around the cups. After that, ask the children to guess which cup the toy is hidden under. In this game, your children will learn observation skills, analytical skills as well as memory skills to help them determine where the toy is. |
Improve their memory through singing |
Most children will enjoy and have fun when there is music and rhythm. Hence, they will be able to remember things better when you make it fun for them. For instance, you can choose a song and sing it together with your children to train their memory. It is essential to choose a song that the children enjoy singing. You may even further help stimulate their memory by leaving out some lyrics for your children to complete the song. |
References:
1 https://lesley.edu/article/stages-of-memory
MYS-01/10P03/18276
