PARENTING : WORK WITH CHILDREN TO STRENGTHEN THEIR MEMORY SKILLS.

Byline: Greg Steckler and Gerald Deskin

Of all the skills that are important to children's learning, memory is one of the most important. It is important for school as well as many other aspects of a child's life.

Memory can be divided in many ways, but both short- and long-term memory is a simple way to understand how a child remembers. Although both are important, long-term memory of events or information seems to be less of a problem than short-term memory.

Short-term memory is essential for learning in school. This means children have to learn how to remember facts and ideas presented to them at an early age.

Children actually have to learn how to remember. Of course we all remember enormous amounts of incidental information, but if a child wants to remember what is taught in school, he/she has to learn how to structure and organize material to be learned.

The first step in remembering important information is to understand it. If your child can explain the information to you, the likelihood of them remembering it later is excellent. Information that is not understood is hard to organize and structure - and therefore hard to remember.

There are a number of memory devices to help with certain kinds of information. For example; if a person is tall and slender and named with a beginning letter ``S,'' it is easy to think of a stick and then recall the name. There are lots of these memory devices which can be helpful.

Using a number of senses, such as vision, hearing and touch, helps with memory. Although each of us may use a different sense as a primary learning tool, the more senses involved, the better the chance to retain information. Some of us are visual learners. These are people who will say, ``I see what you mean.'' Others are auditory learners and will say, ``I hear what you are saying, or what you mean.''

Some individuals seem to need to touch others when they talk, as if reinforcing the touch of kinesthetic sense as a way to remember. No one way is better. It depends on the individual. However, if you can hear what someone is saying and then actually visualize it in your mind's eye, you may remember the information more clearly and for a longer time.

Other skills that help in memory are the ``intention'' to remember. When you know you need to remember, it will help you focus on remembering. This may mean you need to pay special ``attention'' to what is being said, or what you read. This may be a special problem for children who have problems focusing and attending to the teacher in class.

Concentrating on the task at hand also affects memory. The ability to clear your mind of other material also helps you to concentrate on what you have to remember.

Other factors that affect memory are your emotional state, such as being free from worry and being well rested.

Along with organization of the material, children remember better what they repeat and recite. Repetition can be an essential aid in memory.

Finally, the material to be learned may be grouped into different categories to ease the problem of remembering.

While these suggested approaches to remembering are not exhaustive, they give the basics of how to help a child learn and remember. Parents can teach their children these simple devices and even improve upon them.

One example is the parent who purchased an inexpensive dictation machine for the child to use. For an auditory learner this is an excellent way to remember information. The child dictates, for example, spelling words into the machine and then listens to them. Another child may write each spelling word five times. If he/she is a visual learner, using vision and motor skills may be most helpful in remembering.

Suggestions for parents: 1. Find out what kind of memory your child uses most of the time, visual or auditory. 2. Train him or her on the easiest way to remember.