WiseTip: CD-MEM-M0009-P01B

Cognitive Development

Promoting Memory

If your baby is above six months old, play hiding games with your baby by partially hiding a toy under a blanket or cloth.

1, 2, 3

Pelphrey, KA.; Reznick, JS. Working memory in infancy. In: Kail, RV., editor. Advances in child development and behaviour. Vol. Vol. 31. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2003. p. 173-227.

Haden, C. A., Ornstein, P. A., O'Brien, B. S., Elischberger, H. B., Tyler, C. S., & Burchinal, M. J. (2011). The development of children's early memory skills. Journal of experimental child psychology, 108(1), 44–60.

New Jersey Council for Young Children. (2013). New Jersey Birth to Three Early Learning Standards. Retrieved from https://www.nj.gov/education/ece/guide/standards/birth/standards.pdf

WHY IT MATTERS

Shortly after birth, newborns can recognise their mother's voice.

DeCasper A.J., Fifer W.P. (1980). Of human bonding: newborns prefer their mothers’ voices. Science. ;208(4448):1174–1176.

By three to four days old, they can remember and recognise their mother's face.

Simion, F., & Giorgio, E. D. (2015). Face perception and processing in early infancy: inborn predispositions and developmental changes. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 969. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00969

A study found that two-month-old babies could remember for a day or two, and the games that had been played. Playing games with babies and talking about what they are experiencing helps develop their memory and other cognitive abilities.

Rovee-Collier, C. (1999). The Development of Infant Memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(3), 80–85.

After infants turn six months old, caregivers can develop their working memory by playing "Hide and Seek" or games that involve hiding objects. Child-initiated play within safe boundaries allows children to move at their own pace, try out new ideas and feel unrestrained by adult rules. This experience helps them develop their own identity and learn to navigate the world independently.

In children below two, hiding things and finding them again reinforces the concept of "object permanence". This refers to the understanding that objects continue to exist even if they are unseen. When playing games that involve hiding toys for others or themselves to find, children exercise their short-term (working) memory and processing speed. Such games also develop visual-spatial abilities as they need to look and make comparisons to assess if something can be fully hidden, and categorize things in which items can and cannot be hidden. All these skills lay the foundations for building the cognitive abilities of young children.

4, 5

Pelphrey, KA.; Reznick, JS. Working memory in infancy. In: Kail, RV., editor. Advances in child development and behaviour. Vol. Vol. 31. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 2003. p. 173-227.
Haden, C. A., Ornstein, P. A., O'Brien, B. S., Elischberger, H. B., Tyler, C. S., & Burchinal, M. J. (2011). The development of children's early memory skills. Journal of experimental child psychology, 108(1), 44–60.