How to [Improve Your Child's Memory]?

Do you
really listen to your child?

If you really listen to your child,
their memory will improve.

Why?

That is because

outputting information
helps it stick in the memory

I have summarized the reasons for this
and how to make it stick.

◆ Reasons why output is better

Output is more important than input

In an experiment(*) conducted by Dr. Karpicke
at Purdue University in the United States,
the group that repeated outputhad
a significantly higher accuracy rate
than the group that only used input,which was the result.

It is clear that output is more important than input for memory retention.

* An experiment where students at the University of Washington were asked to memorize 40 Swahili words

Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

Are you familiar with
the "Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve"?

According to research by the German psychologist
Hermann Ebbinghaus,
the human brain forgets information it has learned

42% after 20 minutes,
56% after 1 hour,
74% after 1 day,
76% after 1 week,
79% after 1 month!

It is shocking that we forget more than half
after just one hour.

Hippocampus and Cerebral Cortex

The human brain has parts called
the "hippocampus"whichtemporarily stores memories,
and the "cerebral cortex"whichstores memories long-term.

Information that enters the brain repeatedly
is judged by the hippocampus as important information,
sent to the cerebral cortex,
and established as long-term memory.

The period during which the hippocampus retains memoryis said to be
"one month,"and if it is not used during that time,
there is a high possibility that it will be forgotten completely.

◆ How to make it stick as memory

So, how can we make information stick in memory?

The answer is spaced repetition learning.

By repeating the learning process,
you can help it stick in the brain.

Next, I will introduce some specific methods.

[Spaced Repetition] makes it easier to retain information in long-term memory

Spaced repetition is
a learning method where you
gradually increase the intervals between reviews.

This is a learning method introduced in the book
"Super Reading Techniques to Master Knowledge"
by Mentalist DaiGo.

This makes it easier to retain information in long-term memory.

If you adapt spaced repetition for children, it would be

asking them to explain it repeatedly

This allows for repeated output.

What you need to be careful about is
listening with interest even if it's the same story.

If you act uninterested,
they won't explain it seriously.

Summary

For the reasons above, I think you understand that input alone
makes it hard to retain information in memory.

To make it stick in memory,
output is important.

If you want to improve your child's memory,
make sure to listen to them properly.

If you listen to your child's stories carefully,
they will feel secure knowing "You're really listening!" and
they will keep outputting more and more.

Also, asking them questions and having them explain things
is an effective form of spaced repetition.

Things like "What was that again?" or
"Why is it like this?"

To take it to the extreme,
repeating at the intervals written in the spaced repetition method is most effective,
but that is difficult with children, isn't it?

Regardless of the timing,
having them explain things repeatedly
will lead to improved memory.

Listen to them, ask questions.

It also deepens parent-child communication,
so I think it's killing two birds with one stone.

Why don't you try doing this consciously as well?