Tips to Increase Concentration in Children

We can only learn new things when we concentrate on their working and understand them.

For most kids, it is difficult to focus for more than a few moments on any task, and that’s quite natural, due to their curiosity, exuberance, and energy.

However, concentration is essential for studying, for homework and for the completion of any task.

Here are six easy tips to improve your child’s concentration.

1. Giving children too many tasks and involving them in too many activities can be overwhelming and tiring for their brains. As a parent, you should allow them enough time for pleasure and fun, so they don’t feel too pressurized.

2. A big task requires too much concentration and discipline, so it would be a good idea to divide it into smaller tasks. This could be applied to homework, housework and learning new skills.

Doing small projects, which lead to the completion of a major project, give the feeling of progress and movement, making it easier to focus.

A big task that requires time, dedication and focus, might seem intimate and overwhelming and can awaken reluctance to tackle.

A small task seems easier to carry through and there is less resistance.

3. Questions is a fun game for 3- and 4-year-olds that helps them focus on one item as they learn about it.

To play, an item is placed in front of the child. He is then allowed to look at it briefly.

The teacher or parent next asks him a series of questions one right after the other quickly so that he must answer them by organizing his information only on the item he is looking at.

This activity requires him to concentrate on one specific subject or item at a time, a valuable skill once he starts school. This activity can also be modified with tougher questions as a child gets older.

4. Memory is a classic game of childhood and one that teachers focus on preschool-age children.

To play the game, you lay out a number of cards, and the children take turns turning them over in pairs and attempting to find matches. If a player finds two of the same card, she keeps the match.

The player with the most matches at the end of the game is the winner. Memory is a good game to develop focus because 3- and 4-year-old children must pay careful attention to where the cards are in the playing area, so they can make matches.

Scholastic recommends allowing pre-schoolers to win because it will encourage them to focus on the game.

5. Set a timer for a particular task that your child can work to “beat.” Sometimes setting a short period of time will help them focus longer.

One rule of thumb is that a child can focus on a single activity for about one minute per year of age. This is just a guideline — there are plenty of exceptions.

6. Good nutrition and enough sleep are huge factors in helping your child be able to concentrate on a task.

We all know the sleepy effect a carbohydrate-heavy diet can cause. Complex carbs, protein and fresh fruits and vegetables will help improve your child’s ability to concentrate.