How to Improve Short Term Memory in Children

Make anything into a game and just about any kid will enjoy it – even learning. By making exercises fun and interesting, children will be eager to learn, and an added bonus is that the information they are processing during the game will get stored in their brain. The same theory works for improving a child’s short term memory. Turn a memory exercise into a game, and they’ll be happy to play, not even realizing that they’re ingraining information in their brain.

The Memory Game
Most of us would have played a version of the aptly named card game ‘Memory’. You place a deck of cards face down and turn two over at a time. If they match, they remain face up, and you continue. If the cards don’t match, they get turned face down again, and the next person begins their turn.

This game is a great example of training yourself to remember something – in this case, in order to win the game. Used regularly, this game is effective in enhancing your short term memory. Children will happily play this game, never realizing they are improving their short term memory. You can use a standard deck of cards, a specialized set available in toy stores, or you can create your own cards with information you want the children to learn, remembering that cards need to be made in pairs. Soon, you’ll notice an improvement in their short term memory when the children begin picking the correct cards almost all the time.

Improving Auditory Short Memory
Auditory short memory can also be improved in children using some basic exercises. Again, by making the exercise into a game, children will improve their short term memory without even noticing that they’re learning. A simple game that can be used is to repeat a series of items, like a list of sports, colors, or just about anything you can think of. Say the items once to the children, then get them to write down, in order, the items you have just mentioned. Each time you repeat this exercise, increase the amount of items.

Over time, the children will be able to repeat the list, in the exact order, without any trouble. Games like this are a great way to improve the short term memory in children, and the good thing is that they are fun, they can be played just about anywhere, with little or no materials required.

To create an incentive when trying to increase a child’s short term memory, implement a reward system for the games you are playing. A child will instinctively try harder to win a game when they know there is a reward involved. Stickers, stamps and small prizes are all inexpensive, but effective, in encouraging children to play games that increase short term memory. Natural competition also aids in increasing short term memory, as the children try to out do each other during the exercises.

         

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