Care For Kids' Memory Power

Memory is the ability of the brain to encode, retain and recall previously experienced information, such as impressions, sensations, skills, events and situations. The ability to retrieve and use the stored knowledge of past experiences is essential in the learning process.

In psychology, memory is considered as a process in which the incoming information from the outside world reaches our senses in a form of chemical or physical stimuli which has to be changed, or 'encoded' in order to be retained. Then this stored information is available, over periods of time so that it can be recalled and be used again as needed.

Long Term Memory is that aspect of the memory in which the information is stored permanently. Theoretically, this form of memory has unlimited capacity to store information. Short Term Memory is that aspect of the memory in which the individual is conscious of the information at a given moment but this information has to be rehearsed or be linked to information stored in Long Term Memory or it will otherwise be lost. The capacity of Short Term Memory is limited to about seven items.

Attention plays a key role in storing information into the Long Term Memory. Without paying proper attention to the information it might not be stored and thus it cannot be retrieved and used again. Absent mindedness is a memory failure which is caused by lack of attention. Transience is the memory failure in which the memories fade and degrade over a period of time. This occurs in the storage stage of memory, before the information is retrieved. Transience has a general pattern of rapidly forgetting the information after a few days or years, followed by small losses in the following days or years.