Top 10 Memory Games Your Kids Will Want To Play All The Time

"My daughter does study well, but she seems to forget the answers to a couple of questions. If only she could remember better..."  Do you feel the same about your child? Well, here are some simple ways to help improve your child's memory so that she can easily recall what she learns.

Generally, when it comes to improving a child's memory it's all about memory food, memory tricks for study, memory tips for recall, and so on. But, here's something with a difference - fun memory games.

These brain training games are super fun and exciting for all age groups and offer quite a few benefits. These games help the brain stay alert, improve concentration and increase memory power. On the whole, they aid cognitive development. And, unlike chess and other board games, which are of a longer duration, these games can be completed quickly. So, let's get started. Here's to fun and some healthy exercise for the brain.

Top 10 memory games for better recall

Note: All games are suitable for ages 6-18. The difficulty level of each game can be adjusted according to the child's age.

1. Picture recall challenge

What you need:

• A pen
• A piece of paper
• A picture with images of people or multiple objects in it

How to play:

Let your child look at a picture (say, scenery) for 10 seconds. Then, let her recall all the people or objects she saw in the picture and write them down. Once she has completed it, check her list with the picture to see how many things in the pictures she was able to recall.

2. Sorting game

What you need:

• A set of cards

How to play:

Arrange a set of cards in a particular order facing up. Let your child look at them for a few seconds. Then, shuffle up the cards and ask him to re-arrange in the same order that you had placed them. See how closely the order matches with yours.

3. Poetry fun

What you need:

• A pen
• Some pieces of paper

How to play:

Ask your child to memorize a poem. Next, write down the lines of the poem on separate slips of paper. Shuffle them up. Ask your child to re-arrange the lines to get the complete poem.

4. Cacophony time

What you need:

• An audio player
• A pen
• A sheet of paper

How to play:

Record various sounds (car horn's blare, sparrow's chirp, the gong of church bells, water gushing from the tap, etc.) and play it to your child. Let him listen to it first. Then, let him write down all the sounds that he heard. Check how many he got right.

5. Hide and seek

What you need:

• Several random objects
• A towel
• A pen
• A sheet of paper

How to play:

Place a variety of objects on a table - pen, notebook, crayons, bottle, vegetables, bowl, and so on. Ask your child to look at the objects for 30 seconds. Then place a towel over the objects so that she is unable to see them. Now, ask her to write down the names of all the objects she saw on the table.

6. Playing the guide

How to play:

Take your child on a ride to a place he hasn't been to yet. As you proceed to the place, ask your child to memorize the landmarks. On your way back, ask your child to locate the landmarks.

7. Word chain

How to play:

This can serve as a simple party game. Start the game with a sentence - "I like ice cream." The first child then says, "I like ice cream and bananas." The second child says, "I like ice cream, bananas, and waffles." This must continue with each child adding one more to the list until one of them forgets some items in the list.

8. Photographic memory

What you need:

• An old family album

How to play:

Flip through an old family album with your child. As your child to look at each photograph, tell her the names of people and how they are related to her. You can narrate humorous anecdotes and interesting incidents as you flip through the pages. Once you're through, close the album and ask your child some fun questions to help her recall the people you pointed out to her. For example, "What's the name of the grandma who kept searching for her glasses while she was wearing them all along?"

9. Backward spell

What you need:

• A chart with a list of words in it

How to play:

Display a list of words on a chart. Let your child look at the words for a few seconds. Then roll up the chart. Now let her recall the words and try to spell them backward. For example, for the word 'station', she will have to spell - N O I T A T S.

10. Matching pairs

What you need:

A deck of playing cards

How to play:

Place a deck of playing cards facing down on a table. The task would be to find a pair that matches (for example, two 10s, two 7s, etc.). If the pair doesn't match, the player will have to put back the cards face down in their respective places. All players should remember where the particular cards have been placed so that when their turn comes, they can pick a matching card easily.

And for some extra fun here is an interesting word-building game.

Fun word games for your child

Watch it here: