"Remember When?" is more than a game old friends play when they get
together. It’s something you can ask your kids. And you may be
surprised at the answer.
"Kids remember a whole lot more than we used to know," says Dr.
Rochelle Harris, a developmental psychologist at Children’s Mercy
Hospitals and Clinics. "The research is fascinating. Memory begins at a
very young
age."
The research Harris mentions is outlined in a recent issue
of Healthy Kids, a magazine of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It
focuses on such things as how long babies retain memories, how much
detail they remember and whether babies are able to draw on their
remembrances as they get older.
One study, in which pregnant women read children’s stories aloud twice
a day during their third trimester, suggests memory begins taking route
before birth. When the babies were a few days old, they showed a
preference for the stories their mothers had read over different
stories, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Research has shown that babies retain their memories for a relatively
long period of time: six-month-olds will remember what behavior
illicits a certain response even after a delay of 18-19 days. Babies
also can use their memories to anticipate the future.
Babies demonstrate their early memory skills many times each day. At
one or two months, they begin to learn that a certain behavior illicits
a certain response: baby cries, baby gets fed, or something like that.
"Babies start to develop a certain image of what to expect. They
remember what happened before," Harris says.
A newborn will begin to recognize familiar faces as she sees them, but
when the person leaves, she isn’t able to remember that person’s face.
That ability gradually develops: When a baby is six or eight months old
and a favorite person comes into a room, the baby will recognize the
person and get excited. When the baby is nine or 10 months old, she’ll
see something that belongs to that favorite person and become excited.
She’ll be remembering that person in their absence.
Throughout the first 18 months of life, your baby will show what he or
she remembers through behavioral response, such as laughing or smiling.
Between 18 and 22 months, the child will begin to "tell" you what they
remember, maybe with just a word or two.
Unique things do stand out in a child’s mind. "And you may be surprised
by what they do remember," Harris says.
As children get close to three years of age and develop better language
skills, they can talk about past events even more elaborately. You may
be surprised how far back they can remember. One study showed that some
two-and-a-half year olds recalled events that took place when they were
six months of age.
Although kids may remember past events, they often don’t volunteer
details. That’s where parents can help, by asking them questions --
leading questions if you must -- to aid in pulling memories together.
Kids whose parents create detailed "scripts" about past events recall
more by the age of five and have better literacy skills than children
whose parents don’t employ this strategy. "This can only help your
children," Harris said.
