Preschooler Week 83

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A Picture Brings Back Memories!

Each day you and your child are experiencing new things and making memories out of these events.  No two days are ever the same.  In fact, even what you may consider a boring day at home can bring new challenges and experiences as you look at the day through the eyes of your child.  Maybe you are eating something new for lunch and he is trying to figure out if he would like it.  He’s looking at the texture and color of the new food.  He smells it.  These experiences are important to him.  I can recall a time when my nephew was trying cottage cheese for the first time.  He’s an adult now and he still talks about how he thought it looked like snow from a giant snowstorm with rocks in it and how he didn’t want to eat it.  But after we convinced him to give it a try, he loved it.  It’s a memory he can still recall years later and it comes to the forefront of his mind every time he eats cottage cheese.

Researchers have found out that children have a stronger recall of events when an adult is with them talking to them during the event.  If you are at the zoo and gazing at all the animals chances are you are talking about what the name of the animal is, the food it eats, its color and  its size.  Give your child choices as to what he wants to visit next, such as the big cats or the sea lions.  When you sit down for lunch encourage your child to look at the map and point out the colorful attractions.  Upon ending your day at the zoo, ask your child to recall his favorite part of the trip.  Remember, it is important to also share your favorite memories of your past, too!  At bedtime, your child may choose a story for you to read about a bear at a zoo and the next day he may tell his neighbor friend about his day at the zoo.  Your child has formed a script in his mind about what happens when he goes to the zoo.  His script may be as simple like:  “You drive to the zoo, you see lots of animals, you eat lunch, you go to the gift shop and you go home.”  But when you reflect back on certain types of animals he will be able to tell you that he saw the tiger eat some meat when the zookeeper pushed the meat tray into the tiger’s cage or that he fed a giraffe a cracker from the tall deck.

One of the best ways to help children recall events from the past is by taking photographs.  I always enjoy taking about a dozen photographs and putting them into a small child-sized book for my children to look at.  These mini-books became bedtime favorites as they were “read” over and over again.  These photos always helped my child remember not only what we did that day but the emotions that he felt or how other people felt that day.  It’s also a great way to strengthen relationships with family members.  So why not take a picture today?  The memories will last a lifetime!

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