Multiplication tables are such a miniscule amount of stuff to memorize compare to, say, your vocabulary. Just memorize it. It's nothing.
I don't think memorizing math facts is anything at all the same type of function as incorporating new vocabulary into your language bank, and I do think that forcing kids to memorize them before they are developmentally ready just results in a lot of extra work and frustration. I saw that with two of my kids - they had to try to learn to regurgitate them quickly in school before they were really developmentally ready and it was a lot of work to memorize them, the "tricks" still took them a lot of mental effort, and the facts didn't really stick. A few years later, when they were ready, it just happened and became very easy. Both of these children had no issues at all with acquiring new vocabulary from a very young age.
polarbear
