6 Tips To Your Child's Memory

If your child is spending more time swiping and scrolling, instead of interaction with the real world, you need to act before it’s too late says Dr (Brig.) K S Rana, senior consultant, Paediatric Neurology at Venkateshwara Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi

 

- K S Rana

Early childhood is the blue print of adulthood. These years are akin to the foundation stone of a building under construction. Any abrasion during this time is permanent and can never be rectified. Development during these formative years is critical. Your child’s cognitive development takes place in the early years of his life. The overuse of gadgets stunts this growth and causes a negative impact on his overall development. These gadgets keep your child away from the social stimuli that is critical for the development of the brain.

A child’s memory goes hand in hand with his awakening of consciousness. As your child grows up, he will start to recognise faces, words and colours, names of friends, and even nursery rhymes. With age, they begin to record and remember experiences, both good and bad, which will eventually shape the rest of their lives. What strings together their intellectual, practical and autobiographical modes of remembering, is memory. A child’s life is shaped by his ability to remember things. Children need both long and short term memory to succeed in school, personal pursuits, play, social and personal life. Short term memory allows children to remember things that happen in the recent past such as details from a story. Long-term memory skills include remembering how to read the names of friends and family members. Kids also use long-term memory to recall how to do basic movements and processes such as riding a bike and solving a puzzle.

Both long-term and short-term memory skills help children learn to think, plan, reflect, follow directions, solve problems, imagine and learn basic literacy skills. These key developments in childhood memory occurs between infancy and kindergarten. Problems with the development of memory tends to delay language and motor skill development. Fortunately, you dear parents, can help shape your child’s memory skills through various brain-engaging activities.