As a parent do you see that your child can’t focus on their homework? And you are struggling to make them focused about their homework? Do you feel like they are constantly getting distracted by their surroundings and you are doing everything to keep them on track? There are many of the parents who doesn’t know how to improve concentration in kids and then fafe different challenges in their way. However, these days it’s not uncommon for kids to struggle with concentration. Furthermore, there are many of the ways and strategies that can help you to make your child more focused and stay concentrated.
Why is concentration important for kids?
Concentration is one of the most important skills for kids. It plays an important role to shape their academic, social and emotional success. However, when kids are focused and staying concentrated, they are easily able to:
- Learn and retain new information more effectively.
- Complete their tasks and projects more efficiently.
- Develop skills to manage their time.
- It improve their problem solving activities.
- Enhance their self esteem and confidence.
If your kid is lacking in any of the points then they need your special attention. And, don’t worry we are there to help you.
Symptoms of concentration problems in kids
What are some of the signs or symptoms to know that your child is struggling with concentration? Here are some of the signs that will help you determine:
- When your kids os struggling with focus and concentration then you will see they find difficult to pay attention to instructions or tasks.
- They easily get distracted by their surroundings or stimuli.
- They struggle to complete their tasks and projects.
- The ither sign that determines that your child is finding difficult to be focused is they avoid tasks that require sustained attention.
- The next sign is they display restlessness or fidgeting.
Now, that you know about the symptoms you can easily move forward to take some essential steps to improve their focus and concentration.
Types of distractions
There are some of the distractions which makes them be busy in unnecessary activities. Once you understand them you can easily tackle them with effective strategies. Here are different types of distractions which may be affecting your kid’s concentration:
- Internal distractions – Internal distractions can be daydreaming, mind-wandering or preoccupied with some personal thoughts or worries.
- External distractions – There might be noise, social media, video game, TV or other environmental stimuli that maybe attracting their attention.
- Visual Distractions – They might be attracted towards bright colours, movements of cluttered surrounding.
- Auditory Distractions – The next up distraction type is audio type such as loud noise, music or background chatter.
- Social distractions – The next up distraction taking their attention is interaction with friends, family members or pets.
- Digital distractions – Last but not the least type of distractions is digital distraction such as notifications, alerts or messages from electronic devices.
These are some of the distractions that might be eating up the attention of your kid. However, it becomes important to address the issue and take necessary steps.
Strategies to increase concentration in kids
Now, that you are aware of different distractions, symptoms and other necessary details it is important to move ahead to take necessary steps. But what are those step? Here are some of the tips that can help you:
- Create a conducive environment- Create a conducive environment for your kid. For this you can make your room quiet, comfortable and clutter-free. This will help to minimize distractions, you can also try to turn off the TV, put away electronic devices and reduce noise levels.
- Break tasks into smaller chunks- Large tasks can be overwhelming for kids which will lead to distractions. You can try to break big tasks into smaller and manageable chunks. Not only this offer them some break which will help them to stay focused.
- Use positive reinforcement – Make sure to praise them for their efforts and accomplishments irrespective of how small or big their task is.
- Encourage physical activities – Promote regular physical activities as it will improve cognitive functions including concentration. You can engage them with activities like sports, dance or simply playing outside.
- Limited screen time – Reports have shown that excessive screen time can decrease their concentration. This is why it becomes important to schedule their screen time for half an hour or maximum one hour.
It requires patience, consistency and positive reinforcement to help your child stay focused and improve their concentration. When you create a conducive environment for them, it helps them to develop concentration skills which is required for their success. So, this was a guide on how to improve concentration in kids that requires you to model good behaviour, offer them opportunities for practice and guide them as needed.