A child's memory develops at different stages and in different forms. Dr Richard C Woolfson explains ways in which carers can help to encourage the process
Memory is an important part of a child's learning and understanding, no matter what age he is. Watch a toddler search for his favourite cuddly toy - not only can he remember it from the last time, but he can also remember where it might be.
Without memory, he would not even look for the toy in the first place because he wouldn't remember that he had it. And when a seven-year-old tackles his homework, he uses his memory to recall a new concept that he learned in school earlier that day.
Through memory, a child gathers information, sorts it all out, decides what's worth keeping and what can be rejected, stores it, and then uses it whenever he wants. It may be useful to think of memory as consisting of three features. First, there is short-term memory. This temporarily holds all the information a child receives (such as the colour of the carpet, the noise of a car passing by, the solution to a puzzle).
Second, there is the decision-making process. This selects the information to be remembered (such as his name, the plan of his house, what he likes for breakfast) and the unimportant information to be forgotten (such as the colour of his socks today). And third, when information is to be remembered, it is passed to the child's long-term memory where it is stored for later recall, rather like an office filing cabinet.
Of course, this process operates automatically - a child doesn't have to consciously run his memory system - but there are strategies he can use deliberately to improve his memory. Memory provides the building blocks with which to construct his understanding of the world around him.
Different types of memory
From birth onwards, a child has five different types of memory, which are: n Visual memory. This enables him to remember sights. For instance, when he sees his favourite toy he remembers what it looks like and his face lights up.
- Auditory memory. He remembers previously heard sounds. That's why, for instance, he chuckles happily when he hears someone speak his name gently.
- Olfactory memory. This is the memory for smells and tastes. A young baby, for example, can differentiate the smell of his mother's milk from the smell of someone else's milk.
- Kinaesthetic memory. He can recall specific movements that he has made. For instance, he soon learns that shaking the rattle will cause it to make a wonderful noise.
- Semantic memory. Semantic memory enables a child to remember language and its meaning. This type of memory begins to operate once he starts to speak.
Each of these five memories is linked to a child's understanding and learning. The more types of memory that are involved, the easier he will learn and remember.
For example, if you want to teach a three-year-old a nursery rhyme, say it to him (involving his auditory memory and semantic memory), show him pictures of it in a nursery rhyme book (involving his visual memory), and encourage him to act out the rhyme with you (involving his kinaesthetic memory). If you are particularly creative, you could even let him eat a biscuit in the shape of the rhyme's central character (involving his olfactory memory). The more memories used the better, as far as a growing child is concerned.
Ages and stages
Three months: He uses memory to anticipate events. Watch a baby's face closely when you get ready to feed him. He becomes excited before he sees the food because he remembers the earlier stages, such as the sounds of you preparing the feed.
One year: Memory enables him to listen to an instruction, make sense of it, and then carry it out. If you give an infant a simple instruction, such as 'Pass me the cup, please', he remembers what you asked and then gives you the cup.
Two years: A toddler will rely on memory to apply knowledge from one situation to another situation. For instance, when he completes one inset-board - the type where two or three pieces fit inside a wooden frame - he can complete a second board much quicker.
Three years: His memory is the foundation for developing and extending his understanding of language. When learning a nursery rhyme, at first he only remembers the last word of each line, but with practice, he eventually learns the entire rhyme.
Four years: A child uses memory to learn a range of pre-school concepts. For example, he might remember three or four colour names, some elementary shape names and even the names of numbers from one to ten.
Five years: He recalls incidents that he experienced at school. If you ask a child questions about school, about his teacher, about the day's activities, about the other children in his class, he is usually able to give an accurate account of key events.
Six years plus: Both short-term and long-term memory become the building blocks for most of his classroom learning. The vast range of new concepts and fresh knowledge can only be retained from one day to the next because of his memory.
Boosting memory skills
Results from psychological research confirm there are effective techniques for improving a child's memory. First, encourage him to break the information to be remembered into small sections. For instance, if he has six new reading words as homework, suggest that he learns them one at a time.
Only when he is confident that he knows the first on the list, let him move on to the next word, and then the next, and so on until the list is complete. That's more effective than trying to remember everything at once. Second, show him how to organise his memory.
Suppose, for example, you want a child in your nursery to fetch a small number of items from a storage cupboard (such as a pencil, a crayon, a colouring-in book and paper) he is more likely to remember them all if he organises them into a meaningful chunk (for example, 'things to draw with').
Using this technique makes the task much easier for him because the information is now stored in a clear structure. And finally, encourage him to use good old-fashioned rote learning (that is, 'off by heart'). This remains an efficient way of committing to memory essential segments of information.
Learning songs, for example, is easier when each line is learned systematically by rote. As long as he memorises bit by bit, using bags of repetition all along the way, a child will memorise the whole lot very quickly. Repetition is a very powerful memory tool.
How you can help
Here are some other suggestions for helping children develop memory, wherever you work:
- Establish eye contact. Look in the child's eyes when you give an instruction or piece of information you want him to remember (for example, a phone number, or a time to end an activity). This helps him focus his recall.
- Get him involved. A child is more likely to remember a piece of information, such as a song or a poem, when he has been actively involved in saying it than when he just passively listens to it.
- Use his name. He needs to concentrate before he can learn and remember new information. And he is more likely to recall what you tell him when you put his name somewhere in the sentence. It's as though the sound of his name grabs his attention.
- Offer prompts for recall. When encouraging a child to remember an incident (say, a party in the nursery), give him prompts that could help his memory - for example, that particular sweets were served or that he wore his new green jumper for the first time.
- Keep it fun. There is plenty of research evidence which shows a child's memory is adversely affected by anxiety, so don't make him tense when he learns. Try to create a relaxed atmosphere when teaching children new concepts
