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Another Skill Not to Forget
Working on Toddlers' Short- and Long-term Memory
By Lisa A. Goldstein
"Obviously, infants' memory is much harder to measure because there are limitations in their communicative abilities and with regard to action," Bartsch says.
The best analogy is from Julie Rounds, a child development teacher and coordinator of more than 30 years in Glenview, Ill. "Our brain is like a big pitcher and we start filling it with short-term memory," she says. "As it fills, it then moves to long-term memory."
Dr. Stamm mentions doing something with processed information to allow it to be stored in one's long-term memory. By "do something," Dr. Stamm says she means the following:
- Repetition
- Elaboration – Extend an idea together; add a story to the ideas you're discussing.
- Organization – Chunk things into groups that "reduce the memory load" at first. Group things by the ways in which they're similar – i.e. group all the animal toys together, the vehicles together.
- Visualization – Draw pictures of what you want to remember. Take photos of things you do together that you can then refer to later. Take photos of family members so they can "practice" recognizing Grandpa who lives in Florida.
In terms of daily tasks, parents can help children learn ways to remember things, Bartsch says. For instance, you can actively teach mnemonic techniques such as simply repeating something to yourself – e.g. "Brush teeth, brush teeth," or putting items where they'll be remembered – e.g. "Put your backpack in your bedroom doorway so you won't forget to take it to daycare."
