Improving Your Child’s Working Memory

Have you ever been introduced to someone only to realize five minutes later that you can’t recall their name?

Or maybe you’ve experienced this one: you suddenly remember that you need to add something to your shopping list, but by the time you find a pen, you can’t remember what you were going to write.

Have you ever been frustrated by your child’s inability to remember a short list of tasks you’ve asked him to accomplish?

The examples above demonstrate the potential shortcomings of the working memory. Inevitably, we all face these issues from time to time. But for a child with more significant memory challenges, these issues can have a dramatic impact on the learning process. Is there hope? YES! But let’s back up to consider several important questions.

What Is Working Memory?

Working memory is the ability to hold information in your brain for a short period of time while you work with or manipulate the information. Working memory is critical for learning to read and spell.

For example:

• It helps you sound out unfamiliar words.
• It helps you keep your place in the text, allowing you to look away from the page yet still find your place again.
• It helps you remember the words you just read as you finish the sentence or paragraph, enabling better comprehension.
• It makes it possible for you to compose a cohesive paragraph, writing down one sentence while you think of the next.

Working memory is one of the most important indicators of how easily a child can learn. In fact, research has shown that working memory is actually a much better indicator than an IQ score of how easily a person can learn.

Signs Your Child Has Poor Working Memory

Children with poor working memory will struggle with tasks that require them to hold some information in their minds (such as a dictated sentence) while doing something else that is challenging to them (such as spelling the words). Without some adaptations, a child may fail to complete a task because crucial information (in this case, the remainder of the sentence) is dropped from their memory and is no longer available to them. It may appear that the child is not paying attention, but in reality, the child may simply have forgotten what he or she is supposed to do.

In addition, children with poor working memory may have one or more of the following problems.

• They may have difficulty paying attention to lessons.
• They may seem uncooperative during learning activities.
• They may fail to comprehend what they are reading.
• They can’t follow a string of instructions.
• They “space out” during lessons.
• They seem forgetful.
• They often misplace things.
• They struggle to complete multistep activities.
• They often forget what they were going to say.

6 Ways to Build Your Child’s Working Memory

As you implement the six ideas below, you will begin to see improvement in your child’s working memory.

1. Avoid information overload. When too much information is presented in a lesson, your child’s working memory becomes overloaded.
2. Eliminate distractions. When your child is working, try to reduce distractions such as TV or radio in the background, siblings or classmates talking, and toys or other interesting activities nearby.
3. Make sure your child is comfortable during lessons. Physical stress (from things like headaches, an uncomfortable chair, hunger, being too hot or too cold, and eye strain due to vision issues or from facing a bright window) can have a negative effect on working memory.
4. Read aloud every day for at least 20 minutes. When you read aloud, your child has to recall what you just read and anticipate what is coming next. All the while, he is interpreting the words and comprehending the story.
5. Do motivating activities with your child that require following instructions, such as crafts or recipes. She should read one or two simple steps and then complete them. (Depending on your child’s reading level, either you can read the instructions or she can.) This will exercise and stretch your child’s working memory.
6. Play games that build memory skills. Concentration-style and matching games are a great option. Hedbanz is another great memory-building game the whole family will enjoy playing together.

And above all, have patience! This might be the hardest part! Be encouraging, and keep emotional stress to a minimum. If your child is worried about performing properly or disappointing you, that just adds another layer of stress that taxes working memory even more.

An effective working memory is a necessary part of the learning process. But the good news is you can help strengthen your child’s working memory! With a bit of extra effort, you will both see big rewards!

Additional Help for Your Child’s Memory

Download my free e-book, “Help Your Child’s Memory,” to learn more techniques to help strengthen your child’s memory and achieve learning that really sticks.

In this e-book, you will discover…

• Why information goes right over your child’s head … and what to do about it
• How the “Funnel Concept” can improve your teaching and result in long-term learning
• Schemas—what they are and how they help improve memory
• What “Simultaneous Multisensory Instruction” is, and why it is such a powerful teaching method
• Six things you can do today to improve your child’s working memory

Photo credit: Rachel Neumann