5 powerful ways to improve your child’s memory

Not only nutrition and sleep but also games and how you communicate information can help a child retain better.

Most individuals have occasional lapses in memory, such as forgetting the name of an acquaintance or where they have kept the house keys. Likewise, children too, may forget a few answers during revision or when a homework assignment is due or if they have misplaced belongings at school. This isn’t something to worry about. However, if you are having to remind them repeatedly and you find them constantly forgetting, it could become problematic.

Memory is a person’s ability to absorb, store, retain and recall information. It has two major parts: short-term and long-term memory. Short-term memories contain information that you only need to recall for a few minutes, for instance, remembering an OTP for courier delivery. Long-term memories contain memories from holidays, events, your daily functions such as driving, typing, etc. as well as who you are. When children first learn something, it goes into their short-term memory before it reaches their long-term memory repository, and it is not uncommon for it to disappear at this stage.

Focus Games
Play games that boost concentration, attention and memory. Here in one simple and effective one: Take any magazine of choice. Give your child a common word such as ‘the’, ‘and’ or any one of your choice, to circle in the first to third paragraphs of a story. Once done, check if any of the words chosen got missed out! As you get used to it, you can add a timer to make it more fun and change the speed of the game. Gradually, try to do the words on the whole page. You can do this with your child to sharpen your memory too, and it gives you a great time to bond together!

Multisensory learning
Multisensorial learning is not limited to reading and listening only. It involves using other senses to engage the child, thereby boosting short- and long-term memory. You can also convey information using touch, sound, smell and movement. Write down the tasks, say it out aloud, walk around to show it to them, let them use their hands to discover it further, or show an illustration of the activity. Doing this will stimulate different brain regions and help children strengthen their memory towards the task or the knowledge that needs to be retained. You could also ask them to repeat the information they have understood to enhance memory.

Small Chunks

It’s easier to remember information when it is grouped in smaller numbers or sections. Like the space or hyphen between the 10-digit mobile phone numbers makes it easier to memorise. Similarly using highlighters, underlining, writing notes in different categories will make it easier to process and remember the information. Chunking is particularly helpful while communicating instructions to your children. Keep it short and group it together by task or activity. Lengthy instructions are harder for children to retain.

Power of Sleep
Sleep is critical to learning and memory. There is a difference between hours of sleep you require to function optimally and just getting by the day. Researchers have found that children and even adults require eight to nine hours of sleep at night. Sleeping also helps the brain process and store long- term memories. Compromising on sleep consistently impacts memory, critical-thinking skills, concentration, creativity and so on.

Brain Foods
Nutrition is very important for good health and better brain development. There are certain memory-boosting super-foods to easily include in your family’s diet – nuts, berries, green leafy vegetables. Eating these foods regularly will support the development of children’s cognitive abilities.

There are several more techniques for improving memory that are beneficial. Meditation is an effective example. If your child or family member is struggling with remembering things repeatedly, it will be helpful to consult a professional. I hope you can include a couple of more practices to the above, to boost your child’s memory and focus. These are suitable for adults too, so do try them at home!