Really bad memory

Hi all,

Need some advice.

Dd1 is in kindy this yr (nsw). She is 5.5yrs old.

Anyway, she has really bad memory.

For example, she can never remember what she did at school, not even what book the teachers read etc.

But what is worse is she forgets where she puts things and things i tell her over and over again.

For example, on the weekend she got a harmonica.

Seriously she asked me at least 20 times what it was called.

Even when i said ill give her a clue after she asked for the 10th time. I said "har"
She still did not remember what it was.

When i was chatting to her last night, i expressing my concern over her memory she said she does not remember things because her ears are blocked.

But i know this is not the case because ive tested her ears by whispering before.

So is this just a phase of something a GP can help with?

Thanks in advance

This sounds like normal behaviour to me :) But if you're worried you should always check with the doctor for peace of mind. A GP can quickly look into her ears and see if there is anything to worry about.

Make sure she drinks plenty of water, eating good oils (omegas) and coconut oil is great for memory/the brain amongst many other benefits. Vitamin D is important too. But sounds like a normal little person to me, especially a girl. My daughter is 11 and still a shocker, and anyone thats a parent of boys will tell you that every day, school is 'good' and did they have fun? 'yep'. What did you do? 'Not much'. Well what exactly? 'Can't remember.'

LOL

Kids will always tell you they did nothing at school, they really mean they did nothing out of the ordinary. I think you get more out of them if you rephrase the question, so instead of asking 'how was school?' ask 'what was the best thing you did at school today?'.

If she's complaining about her ears being blcoked, definitely get them checked out.

DD will ask what things are even though she knows what they are so I usually answer with something it isn't then she will giggle and reply "no it isn't it's ......"
But if worried get it checked out.
Oh and definitely get her ears checked, whispering isn't great for checking hearing as sometimes it's just certain tones or sounds and not necessarily the volume if you know what I mean.

Thanks ladies

I know the school thing is normal but worried about the constant forgetfulness.

I will be taking her to see her GP and get a blood test.

She is a poor eater and will only eat a bit of veggies when we really force her so worries it might be some deficiency.

Shes been taking the vita gummies with omega 3.

Get that hearing checked & also ask about an auditory processing check as well. Sometimes the ear hears fine but the message is garbled before it hits the brain. If that's the case she will need specific strategies in the classroom.

On the other hand, it may be a normal kid thing. But if have those doubts it's probably best to check them out.

I too wonder if she's picking up on an auditory processing issue - she can hear but it feels like it doesn't come through clearly or stick in her mind. It generally sounds like typical behaviour otherwise though... are there any other issues around her listening / concentration / comprehension / language development / behaviour?

I think a good way to check hearing is to throw the word 'chocolate' into a sentence in a conversation with someone else.... If she hears that, you know she's hearing/listening.

My DS would always say he did nothing at school too. I just think they're over it by the time they get home and we bombard them with questions.

Maybe ask her teacher if she thinks there's anything wrong with her forgetfulness?

I have a 4 year old very similar to what you describe. We happen to have an appointment tomorrow to check her hearing/auditory processing. I went to the GP who had no problem giving me a referral for the testing.

How do they test for the auditory issues?

She is fine behaviourly but i did have concerns before regarding her schooling because i thought she was a bit delayed thinking she might not had crossed her midline.

I raised that to her teacher and she was assessed by an OT whom concluded she was developing fine for a 5 yr old.

Then i felt guilty for placing too much expectations on her :(

Her report is all good with only one thing below class level which is writing her numbers 1 to 30 she sometimes gets them jumbled.

Mentally she is very smart and knows an answer to everything (well stubborn enough to think so lol)

Sounds just like my DD(who is 6)
She started kindy this year as well..

It's so frustrating when she is constantly losing things and doesn't remember where she put it..e.g we have had to by at least 5 school jumpers 3 hats and had to replace her homework book a few times as well.. From speaking to other mums this is fairly common.. They are used to us walking around cleaning up after them that they don't think to do it themselves..

She can never remover what she has done at school or on the weekends..and if we are practicing counting and we count to 30 for example and I will say what comes after 29? And she will say I don't know.. So we count together again from 20 to thirty and I say ok 29 - 30 alright now what comes after 29?? She will have absolutely No idea..
But she can remember conversations/events from when she was three?
Unfortunately I don't think there is a whole lot you can do.. I guess this whole having to remember things is new to them.. We have always done everything for them and reminded them so they really haven't had to do it themselves.. Hopefully they will grow out of it!!

Yep that sounds exactly like my dd1 too!!!!!

And she can recall some things fine like say rewards for completing a task but not sight words.

Yep! Sounds very similar!

Sometimes I think it's just laziness.. As bad as that sounds I think whatever it is is either too hard or they can't be bothered so the easiest thing to do is say 'I don't know' or 'I don't remember'..
I know very well that my DD can count to 100.. But if she doesn't feel like it then she won't even go to 30.. Because she gets stuck and says 'I can't remember'..

Other times I think it's just stubbornness, they don't want to give us the answer we want out of spite and frustration and annoyance so they give the 'I don't know' or ' I don't remember' response. It's their way of not letting us win or not giving us what we want!

I really hope that whatever it is will soon pass and they will realize that we are not nagging at them for fun but for their own benefit! Haha but I guess they will really only realize when they are parents themselves and they have their own set of little eye staring back at them!!