10 Playful Ways to Improve Child's Memory

Created by Shikha Batra Updated on Jul 28, 2017

Between Maths, Science, Social Studies, and play, there are a lot of things your little one needs to remember. Add to it the continuous stimulus they receive from the environment all the time...no wonder, sometimes children’s memory max out and they draw a blank even at simple questions such as “what happened in school today”.
Children these days have to pack in so much in a day, that at times they face memory lapses making them draw a blank on even the simplest questions like what did you do in the school today or tend to forget the simple instructions you had given them.
Tips to Boost Your Child’s Memory
Here, we get you 10 tips on how to help boost your children’s memory, but in a playful way.
#1. Using Playcards:
Give instructions to the child using playcards with a different shape on each with each shape indicating an action to be performed by the child. For example, when he sees a circle he has to raise his arms high up in the air, when he sees a square he has to clap his hands once, when he sees a triangle, he has to take his right arm to his chest in a fist. Now, ask him to make the movement that goes with the shape one by one followed by a repeated series. You can change the order of placards in series each time to make it more complicated.
#2. Using Child’s Magazine:
Give your child a child’s magazine and give him directions to go to a particular page number mentioned by you and underline all instances of the word “a” in one minute.
#3. Play Games:
In the car in which you recite the letters and numbers on a number plate you see on a car passing by and then say it backwards too. Take turns.
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#4. Simple Play Cards Games:
Play cards games like Crazy Eights, Matching Needs, Uno, Go Fish, and War can be excellent ways to improve child’s working memory as the child has to keep the rules of the game in mind besides remembering what card he has and which ones others have played. Even board games such as chess can help boost concentration and memory skills of the child.
#5. Ask the child to think Animal:
Start asking as many animals and name them and making it further complicated by thinking of animals beginning with letter “B”. Names of flowers, birds, insects or his classmates/family members beginning with a particular letter can also be used to play the game.
#6. Ask About clue words:
You can ask your child to name as many clue words for addition as she can (such as “all together”, “in all”, “total” and “plus”). Synonyms of a word or opposites can also be asked.
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#7. Introducce Numbering:
Depending on the age of your child, you can give three or four or five directions simultaeously by numbering them. For example: One- ‘Go to the last room, find a pink towel there’, Two- ‘Go to the study room, wrap the pink towel on the pen stand’, Three- ‘Pick up a notepad from study table and a pencil.’ Four- ‘Bring it to me, write “One” on the notepad and give it to me’. Each time increase the complexity of the instructions given.
#8. Ask to Write or Say aloud Everything from the Tray:
A collection of around 20 small items, for example Pencils, small value coins, purses, fake spiders, tiny teddies, lipstick, plastic toys etc. is placed in a tray. Time limit of about one minute is given to the child to look at the items before they are covered or removed. The child is then asked to write down or say aloud everything from the tray that they can remember. This can be played with words, numbers or letters sequence also.
#9. Play Memory Game:
This memory game can be played between minimum of 2 and maximum of 6 children where the first one would begin a sentence with a location, a situation and items required. For example, the first person could say “I went to school to attend a fun fair with a bag full of sweets”. The next person would need to repeat the sentence, including the first person’s item, and then add their own to start a list. The next person can say “I went to school to attend a fun fair with a bag full of sweets (first person’s sentence) and pencils (his own addition to the list)”. As the game goes on, each participant needs to recall the full list and add their own, and if they can’t, they will out of that round.
#10. Storytelling:
Storytelling is another way to improve working memory as it requires and invites a child’s sustained and focused attention as well as working memory to hold in mind all that’s happened so far, different characters’ identities, story details and to relate them to the new information being revealed (without the use of visual aids).
I would request my readers to enrich this blog with the innovative techniques they have been using to improve the memory of their child. Your feedback is valuable to me. Thanks for reading!
This content has been checked & validated by Doctors and Experts of the parentune Expert panel. Our panel consists of Neonatologist, Gynecologist, Peadiatrician, Nutritionist, Child Counselor, Education & Learning Expert, Physiotherapist, Learning disability Expert and Developmental Pead.


| Mar 07, 2016
I tried out the games played in a car She loved it I have a habit of counting the numbers on d vehicle and making it to a single digit like if the vehicle no. Is 7391=7+3+9+1=20=2+0=2 I will do it in seconds. I started with my daughter like identifying the numbers not nw she is in a stage of reading faster. Tq



| Mar 09, 2016
Hi ek_ahuja! How r u? Thanks for giving it a read. An 8 + child has to remember a lot of things .Find his dominant learning style and give reinforcement on the same. You could work on his memory by playing simple games such as board games, quizzes, guess the right answer by giving clues. Also u could try the following games :A. creating rhythms through tapping of foot or clap and ask the child to repeat the pattern. Make it Complicated in successive attempts. B. Try making him learn telephone numbers by saying it once and asking the child to repeat it. C. The Name game in which a group of 5 to 6 children/ family members play together. One could start by saying : 'I am Samar , I like playing cricket'. Second player would say ' Papa likes playing cricket, I am Isha and I like dancing'. And then the third player could say what two previous players like doing by taking their names followed by what he/she likes. D. Try showing two placards simultaneously. On one write the color 'BLUE ' and the second could read any color but if it is written in BLUE the child has to answer CORRECT. Keep changing placards after fixed intervals. E. give simple addition /subtraction /multiplication and division maths sums by writing one sum on a sheet and quickly removing it in few seconds and he has to answer in few seconds followed by another sum. In the end count the write answers. F. Read aloud a list of things say 10 items and he has to repeat it once u stop in the same order. Make it complicated by asking him to reverse the order. You could also play the games mentioned for 4 to 7 year olds by making these more difficult with complicated instructions. hope this helps!



| Apr 28, 2016
I keep doing whatevrr u suggested from a long time with my 5 yr old.. trust me it s a great way to bond with ur child while the child also learns in a fun way..... not making learning a boring or tiresome job... there is one more game which my son n i love to play.. itd called junior pitcionary and taboo.. its a board game.... n its just a wonderful mind racing game...... parents should try to encourage kids to go ahead with such board games and take turns to play it




| Jun 17, 2016
Brilliant ideas! A variation to one of the games is to place an object beneath cover and ask the child to identify a given object only by feeling it without seeing it. for eg. a hairbrush, a clip, safety pin, her/his tiffin box or any other object used by the child. Another idea is to ask the child to smell/taste food items. The child recalls using his memory. for eg- spices like cloves, pepper, oregano, cardamon also turmeric, chilli, garam masala powder, etc. My kid enjoys both the above games a lot.








| Nov 22, 2016
Good information shared..