Good memory - key to being smart

Some time ago I had written about three skills (see Raising kids to be mentally sharp and smart) that are most critical in my opinion for a child to achieve success as an adult. We'll talk about the most important of the three skills today - MEMORY. Memory is the most important but probbaly the easiest of the three skills to master. It's no different than training a muscle - the more you exercise it better it gets. Today I'll focus on two kinds of memory: Short term or working memory (remembering names, phone numbers etc.) and Long-term memory. Short tearm memory lasts from a few seconds to a minute and long term from a minute to days or even years. Below are some of the daily rituals that I do to help my kids improve thier memory (generally applies to kids 4 and up):

• Once they are back from school ask them about what they had for lunch, any special incident they want to talk about, what was thier best friend wearing today, what was thier teacher wearing today. This helps jog thier memory and also makes them feel that you are interested in them.
• Play memory games - you can find a bunch on the internet or can buy memory board games. Here are couple of websites I use with my 5 yr old and the 9yr old: http://www.thekidzpage.com/freekidsgames/memorygames.htm

          http://www.playkidsgames.com/memoryGames.htm

• I play a game with my younger one (the 9yr old thinks it's too silly) - every night I give him 3 words to memorize. Next day I "become" a monster and put him in a "dungeon" and the only way he can get released is if he can say those three "magic" words. My son loves the game and at the same time gets to exercise his brain.
• Teach the kids some basic memory tricks - one of them is the link/story method. When I give my son 3 words to memorize I ask him to make-up story or a picture connecting the three words. For example "Road", "King" , and "Sky" can be memorized by picturizing the King walking on the Road under the blue Sky. Another trick is called Rhyming which is great for remembering dates. For example my son was born in 2004 so he could use this phrase - "2004 - I was born when my sister for four."
• It's a known fact that exercise improves memory as blood flow helps the brain. Get your kids to move around and watch only limited amount TV or play computer of Nintendo etc.
• Stress - yes, kids do get stressed just like us and it's one of the biggest "memory killer." Help them with stress management which will help them all through thier life not just with thier memory but over all health. A healthy kid will always have a better chance at being a smart kid. In one of the next blogs, I'll talk about stress management for kids.
• Food - experts believe that these foods really do help improve memory: Berries such as blueberries, strawberries and blackberries (NO - not the phone!) are full of antioxidents, Fish such as Salmon that have Omega-3 fatty acids and not to mention the nuts (almonds, walnuts).  

Well, folks I'll be back to cover the remaining two skills- focus/concentration and fast information processing that in my opinion are absolutely essential for our kids to learn. See ya soon !