Here’s a tip from brain researchers that will make the job a lot easier: Divide the list into groups of no more than seven items.

Why? Because research shows that kids can remember things in groups of seven. From the days of the week to the digits in a phone number, our brains can manage about seven items. (Younger children can’t even do that. At age 5, children may be able to remember only two or three things at a time.)

So the key to helping children remember is to break any long list into chunks of seven. After your child masters one chunk, he can move on to another.

Remember that learning facts one time won’t make them stay in your child’s long-term memory. That takes three things: practice, practice, and more practice. So give your child lots of chances to review the facts and soon they’ll be in his brain to stay.

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