There is not one but several memories that develop from the first days of a baby’s life. If he manages to recognize his mother by her smell or the voice and face of his parents from the first days of life, it is because all the stimulation leaves traces in his brain.
What are the types of memories?
The child, from an early age, including before birth, first develops a sensory memory that helps him process the information provided by his senses (sounds, tastes, smells, etc.). Very early, also appears the procedural memory which allows him to retain the learning of his movements so that they become an automatism to limit the conscious effort: walking, swimming, tying his shoelaces, getting dressed, etc.
Gradually, the semantic memory also develops which allows him to accumulate knowledge according to his experiences. It allows him to remember the meaning of words, but also colors, numbers or important dates for example.
Finally, episodic memory, which allows him to remember events in detail, allows him to remember what he ate at noon or the party of the previous Saturday.
How to exercise your memory?
If the memory develops naturally, it is also possible to help it with certain games:
– Memory game where you have to turn over the cards to find identical images.
– Learn a poem, song or dance by heart.
– Learn to associate sounds with images: the noise of animals, transport…
– Recognize smells blindfolded.
– Touch objects in a bag and guess what it is.
Find out more: “100 ideas for developing children’s memory: Exercising working memory: a key to academic success” by Béatrice Risso.
