Does your child have a hard time keeping one bit of information in mind while he’s doing something else? For example, if he’s helping make spaghetti and the phone rings, does he forget he needs to go back and keep stirring the sauce? If he often has trouble with such tasks, he might have working memory issues.

Working memory refers to the manipulation of information that short-term memory stores. (In the past, the term “working memory” was used interchangeably with the term “short-term memory.”) It’s a skill kids use to learn. It’s needed for tasks like following multi-step directions or solving a math problem in your head.

You can help your child improve this executive function by building some working memory boosters into his daily life.

1. Work on visualization skills

Encourage your child to create a picture in his mind of what he’s just read or heard. For example, if you’ve told him to set the table for five people, ask him to come up with a mental picture of what the table should look like. Then have him draw that picture. As he gets better at visualizing, he can describe the image to you instead of needing to draw it.

2. Have your child teach you

Being able to explain how to do something involves making sense of information and mentally filing it. If your child is learning a skill, like how to dribble a basketball, ask him to teach it to you. Teachers do something similar by pairing up students in class. This lets them start working with the information right away rather than waiting to be called on.

– Amanda Morin

Read More: 8 Working Memory Boosters for Kids

Photo Source – understood.org