Little Sneha studies in Grade 1 and is quite a lovely child. She is very good at drawing and English, but when it comes to maths, she just can't remember the tables. She always messes up with the numbers. Not too different from Sneha, we have Nikhil, a grade 3 child, who can remember anything but his English lessons.

This is not just the story of Sneha or Nikhil alone, there are many kids around who find it hard to remember things taught in the class. And as a result fail to score good marks. Constant failures lowers their self-confidence and it affects their performance in other subjects or activities. Therefore, it is very important that the child retain the things he learns in his mind so that even if he isn't scoring full marks, he will definitely not be failing.  

What causes poor memory in kids?

Apart from the grave health reasons that prevents mind from retaining things, there are some general reasons that affect your child's memory. Some of which are:

• Lack of sleep. As it affects the ability to pay attention and recall things. 

• Eating excess of processed sugar such as candy, cakes, cookies etc. It causes blood sugar spikes that affects the attention power of mind.

• In many cases, it can even be genetic. But it can be worked out with practice.

• Too much of stress can also affect memory power.

• Lack of physical exercise or outdoor activity can hamper the growth of brain cells, which in turn can affect the memory. 

Boosting Kids Memory: Some Useful Measures to Take

1. Make him understand the concept: Just mugging up will never help your child remember things for long. To make sure that whatever he studies stays in his mind, focus more on clearing the concept first. Whether it is a mathematical formula, a poem, a lesson from his English book or anything; the child must always be aware of the concept. This will develop his understanding and eventually help in remembering things for long.

2. Use images, and videos: Our brain tends to retain things that are shown as images or videos more effectively as compared to plain text. The same works for kids also; you can show them images, or videos to understand the subject in depth.

3. Make him frame questions: When reading a book or a passage, encourage your child to ask questions. Let him ask anything that comes in his mind while reading the particular text. The more he questions, the deeper will be the understanding. And also, if possible, let the answering also be done by him only. 

4. The music lessons: Experts also state that music helps kids learn remember things more easily. This is why tables and rhymes are taught to them in a musical form. You can try out the same method for making them revise a formula or sentence.

5. Develop the interest: Unless your child is interested in learning the subject, he will never be able to memorize it in the right manner. Many kids don't like mathematics, science, while some dislike studying Hindi, or English. Given the fact that there is no choice, you will have to make them study all these subjects. But it would be more beneficial if they learn it with interest. To ensure they like the subject, provide them with interesting books, stories, games related to the subject. This will seek their attention and they'll learn things in a fun way.

6. Art of visualizing: Be it a child or grown up, things are best remembered when visualized in the mind. When your child is reading something, help him visualize the things in mind. Let him use his own creativity. He can write notes as per the images he visualizes, this will help him in understanding the subject and remembering it.

7. Indulge in some mind activating games: If you don't make use of your mind in doing something creative, it will never function properly. Make your kids play some mind activating games. You can play jumble words, scrabble, sudoku, or different types of numbering games.

8. Create examples and illustrations: Help your child in making his own examples and illustrations of the subject he reads. For this, you can make him use colors, charts, pictures or graphs that will aid them in memorizing the information accurately.

9. Take mock tests: If your child is learning a passage, let him explain that to you without referring to the notes. This will show how much he has understood and what is he finding difficult to grasp. Such mock tests even boost his confidence and help him in learning things in a better way. 

Other than these basic tips, also take care of his eating habits. See to it that he gets an adequate amount of vitamins, nutrients, minerals, carbohydrates. His diet should be rich in fruits, veggies and dairy products. And also ensure that he stays physically fit!