Children s Memory: A Primer for Understanding Behavior

This paper provides the opportunity to understand children s behavior from a memory viewpoint. For the last three decades, cognitive developmentalists have been asking the question, ‘‘what develops in children s memory?’’ Four answers to this question are presented, complete with explanations, examples, and possible applications where appropriate. The purpose of the paper is to provide early childhood educators and other practitioners who work with children a different lens through which to view children s behavior. The memory view is compatible with current best practices in early childhood education, and may provide practitioners an additional viewpoint from which to draw when implementing developmentally appropriate practice.