5 Techniques That Will Improve Your Child's Memory

With Christmas just a few days away, school lessons are probably the last thing on your mind now since the kids are on vacation. Most of us parents are just glad for the break from checking our kids’ homework, reviewing them for their exams, and planning the weekly baon menu.   

We know, though, that when the dust settles and you’re back on our regular grind after the holidays that the kids have to get back to learning mode somehow, or else there’s a risk of “summer slide.” 

Summer slide happens when the kids regress in academic proficiency during extended school breaks (not just in summer) because learning is not seen as a priority during this time, in addition to the fact that kids are likely to just spend most of their time watching on Youtube or playing electronic games.

How can you ensure your child does not go on a learning slump during the Christmas break? Here are some tips.

1. Engage his senses. 

A child will remember more vividly if he uses his senses to remember. For example, while he’s learning to read a book, ask him to touch the pages or smell the paper. Having all three — his sense of sight, sense of touch, and sense of smell — all working together will help him commit the information to memory better. 

2. Ask him to repeat.

Repetition is an age-old technique to remembering information. However, simply repeating information over and over — called mas repetition — with no intervals in between may not be as effective as when you allow some time in between. Now, why is that? According to a study, saying something over and over after you’ve been told it (the capital of a country, for example) requires almost no effort from you, whereas it will require your brain to do some “work” if you have to recall it 5 minutes later.

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3. Make it fun.

People remember information better when they perceive that information as humorous. This is the “humor effect,” and it could very well apply to children, too. An individual’s attention span is longer when faced with a humorous or fun task, thus the brain is in a more conducive state to receive information. 

4. Use music to your advantage.

Especially if your child has the interest, music may help your child grasp information better if you use songs as a tool. Some use the tone of their favorite songs and made-up lyrics to help them remember, while some people do well in retaining information if they read or try to learn something while music is playing in the background. See which one works for your child.

5. Relate it to your child’s experiences.

If an information is too broad for your child to grasp, it’s best to explain it to her using instances she has gone through herself. Thus, if she’s trying to learn Math, try expressing an equation using a word problem (If I gave you 5 apples, and your friend Tasha gives you another 2, how many would you have in total?). It will be easier for her to visualize.

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