Children learn various skills to live a happy, healthy well-rounded life. Memory is one of those skills and is certainly one of the most important ones. Developing memory in children helps them learn and use language, follow directions, solve problems independently, and even understand personal experiences more deeply.
Parents and primary caregivers play a crucial role in helping children enhance their memory through brain training exercises. These exercises, simple enough to be conducted at home with minimal materials, are designed to mimic games that children enjoy.
Here are a few brain training exercises to explore:
Try Multi-Sensory Learning
Children retain information more effectively when you engage their senses. Unlike adults who can understand and remember things by just seeing or listening, children are still figuring out how the world works with their eyes and ears, plus noses, hands, and even mouths!
Whenever possible, try and get them to use at least two of their senses when encountering a new situation. This is one of the most effective memory-boosting techniques. Ask them what they see and hear when visiting a new place, how a new food tastes and smells, or how a toy feels in their hands. The more senses they use in their experiences, the more likely they’ll remember them.
Play Games with a Purpose
Brain training exercises don’t need to be difficult. They can be fun yet still achieve memory-boosting goals. Consider activities like colour-matching games, spot-the-difference activities, or even listening games like Simon Says. These exercises help kids develop their attention span and focus which play big roles in strengthening memory skills.
Connect Learning Material with Real-Life Experiences
When children get to use lessons in real life, they understand them more quickly and apply them more meaningfully. They’re more likely to remember basic math if, for example, you show them how addition and subtraction work at the grocery. Asking them to lead the way during a trip to a park is a great way for them to execute what they learn about using directions and understanding the different meanings of street and pedestrian signs. Memorising new vocabulary words might also be easier if you point out objects, so kids better appreciate the meaning of words.
Find a Memorisation Guide That Works
Brain training exercises can sometimes take the form of actual memorisation. Memorisation can be tough for some kids, so to help them, find a strategy that your child enjoys—and don’t be afraid to get creative! Sometimes inventing rhymes or songs works best. Other times, it’s creating a straightforward list that kids can run through in their minds. Parents can also try creating patterns or categories that help kids connect related concepts. Alternatively, check out tested memory techniques like chunking, peg system, and memory palace to stretch your child’s memory power.
Encourage Kids to Ask Questions
When it comes to developing memory, asking questions is just as important as drilling new information into kids’ heads. When kids ask questions, they become more engaged in their learning experience. Something that was once totally foreign becomes more personal to them, which makes it easier to remember. Allow them to express their curiosity and be patient if they don’t understand at first.
Don’t Forget Rest
That’s right—taking necessary breaks between brain training exercises is critical in strengthening memory. A tired brain can’t process as much information as one that’s well-rested and properly fueled. Let kids rest between activities like homework, memorisation, and even educational play. They can go for a quick walk, do some stretches, or have a snack. Ten-minute breaks should do the trick for primary school children, while 15-20-minute breaks are suggested for older kids.
Remember that memory is a skill, and like all skills, it has to be practised to reach its full potential. No one is born with an inherent ability to understand and retain vast pieces of information, but we can certainly help children get there by using the right brain training exercises. The more these exercises are done, the more kids’ memory muscle is strengthened, and the more it will be useful to them as they grow.
Do you want to help your child improve their memory and hone their cognitive skills? At BrainFit, we try to not only understand your child’s learning behaviours, we help improve them through tailored-fit programmes and science-backed approaches. Check out our programmes here.
References
- 11 Ways To Improve Your Child’s Memory Power, https://www.oxfordlearning.com/11-ways-to-improve-memory-for-kids/, Accessed February 24, 2024
- Developing memory, https://extension.psu.edu/programs/betterkidcare/early-care/tip-pages/all/developing-memory#, Accessed February 24, 2024
- Do’s and don’ts to boost your child’s memory, https://www.britishcouncil.my/english/courses-children/resources/do-dont-boost-child-memory, Accessed February 24, 2024