You couldn’t make empty promises. He would remember and remind you at every turn.

Then your child entered the middle school years. And suddenly he can’t seem to remember anything!

Does this sound familiar? You are not alone. The emotional and physical changes of this age can make many children forgetful and disorganized. This is usually a temporary phase.

In the meantime, urge your child to keep pen and paper with him as much as possible. Give him some colored pens and cool-looking notebooks. And get him into the list habit!

Encourage him to keep lists of fun things. He could list the CDs he wants. This helps him carry over the habit to making lists of tasks, such as school assignments.

You may need to ask teachers to help here. One idea is to have him write his assignment list in class and show it to the teacher. The teacher can look it over and initial it.

At home, you can check the list and initial tasks as they are completed. After a few weeks of this habit, it’s likely your child won’t need this much supervision.

What about a child who already is writing everything down but still can’t keep track? If the problem persists, notify his school. He may need formal testing of memory skills.

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