The ability to form a memory usually starts developing at the age of 2. Like any other skill, memory must evolve throughout life, starting early in childhood. It impacts not only the ability to remember things better but also affects a person’s concentration skills which help to maintain a better focus.

Memory exercises are not boring as you may boost your child’s memory using fun memory-developing activities suitable for toddlers and children of older age.

Why should I start practicing memory games with my child?

All memory activities we’re going to speak about improve a child’s working memory. The definition of working memory is a small amount of information held in a person’s mind to use in completing different tasks. Moreover, it’s a part of a cognitive system in general. A good example of working memory is remembering all the events in a book while reading or listening to a story. So, putting it simply, working memory is all the information that you easily get access to. Children with well-developed working memory do not struggle with difficulties focusing on a matter and accuracy while perceiving information. Moreover, activities aimed at developing working memory skills also positively impact the general cognitive development of a child.

When should a child start practicing memory activities?

Well-developed memory skills let a child acquire all the information easier, which means better education ability for all areas of knowledge. Moreover, these kinds of games will help your child form a positive learning experience and encourage them to know more about the world around them. Usually, the best age to start practicing memory activities is the age of 3. As far as this exact age, a child can already concentrate for a longer time and perceive the information given.

7 best memory-developing games

Remember that you should not force your child when they are not in the mood for memory games. The best approach here is encouraging a kid to do something fun together.

Magic cup game

This game is very popular. You won’t need many items to start this activity with your child. At the same time, it really improves a child’s concentration skills.

How to play: Take 3 cups upside down and take a small item such as a ball, for example. Then put this item under one of the cups so the child may see that. After that, mix all the cups and replace them. Let your child guess where the item is now.

Card games

Nowadays, there is a great amount of matching card games represented both online and offline. So, you may choose any, including matching card sets with your kid’s favorite characters and themes.

How to play: The rules for matching card sets are the same. A child should find every picture’s pair without seeing them before. Place all the cards randomly facing down. A kid may turn over just 2 cards at a time. If they’re not matching, put them down again. Repeat the action until you get a full set of matching pictures on your table.

I went shopping…

This memory game will also impact the child’s speaking skills and abilities. You won’t need anything to start playing this game except for its participants. It’s very convenient to play this game while walking outside with a kid or having a family trip.

How to play: The first participant should start the game by saying, “I went shopping and bought…” naming the thing they want to buy. The second participant repeats the words of the first one adding another item for shopping. The game continues until someone won’t able to reproduce the whole list of shopping items. And the winner is the last one who succeeds in doing that.

Drum beats

This game is great for developing memory skills and exercising the sense of rhythm and listening skills. How to play: You don’t necessarily need a drum to accomplish this activity. It’s possible to try playing the rhythm just with the help of your hands. Clap your rhythm and let your child repeat it.

Draw a word on my back

This game is different from the other ones as it requires not only memory skills but also the ability of a child to transfer the physical sensation to the real picture, developing a mental understanding of an idea of drawing, so the participant can name the word that the image is identifying.

How to play: There are different variations of the game. For the first one, you will need 2 sheets of paper and 2 pencils. One person should put a piece of paper on another person’s back and draw an image. While the second person should mimic those back sensations on their own piece of paper. If the second person correctly names the word pictured on the sheet of paper, they win.

What’s missing?

It’s a fun game commonly used in kindergartens to test children’s memory and cognitive abilities. Moreover, it’s very easy to organize this activity.

How to play: All you will need is a group of items you’d like to use, such as toys, food, pencils, and anything else you may think of. Put all the items in a row. For children of a younger age, it’s better to start with 3-4 items. Take a closer look at all the items together with a child, trying to describe them as carefully as possible. After that, ask your kid to close their eyes and remove 1 item from the row. Ask your child to open his eyes and look at the row one more time so the child can guess what item is missing.

Brainboxes

There is a wide range of brainbox games available in toy shops and not only. Throughout the game, a kid develops cognitive skills, logic, fine motor skills, and strategic thinking.

How to play: There are specific rules for every kid of the brain box, but the main purpose of all of them is to resolve a logical problem