Keys for Improving Your Child's Concentration
The main reason that children have a hard time concentrating is because their brains work differently than adult brains. When the task before them isn’t fun, they get bored. As a result, they divert their attention to something more interesting .
Concentration is like a muscle that needs daily exercise. It’s true that some children are born with a greater ability to pay attention than others. But it’s important to know that all children can strengthen their capacities if we use the appropriate strategies.
Undoubtedly, helping little ones improve their abilities will allow them to develop self-discipline and effective focus at an early age .
On the other hand, being able to pay attention and stay on task is something that benefits children for life… Not only during elementary and highschool, but also during college and throughout their professional career.
Keys for improving your child’s concentration
If you want to improve your child‘s ability to concentrate, the following suggestions can be useful. So take note!
1. Eating healthy foods and staying well hydrated
The first recommendation is that you include healthy foods in your child’s diet. A healthy diet is important during this stage of development and directly linked to children’s ability to focus.
Proper nutrition affects energy and concentration levels, as well as overall health and body weight.
In this sense, you should make sure your child eats a balanced diet. This means including foods from the four major food groups. In doing so, you’ll boost brain development, which in turn contributes to improved concentration.
At the same time, drinking enough water is also important for the brain. Dehydration has a clear negative impact on a child’s ability to focus.
2. Getting enough rest
This is an undeniale fact: Children are more able to focus when they’ve had a good night’s sleep. Furthermore, naps and resting times refresh the mind and increase concentration .
A nap of about 20 minutes, be it after school or in the afternoon, is ideal for improving concentration. Establishing a reasonable bedtime from an early age is also important. This helps them adapt to a regular routine and rest properly during designated times.
“When we’re focused on what we want, things begin to slot perfectly into place”
–Paulo Coelho–
3. Establishing short-term goals
As a parent, it’s important to establish short-term objectives to help your child’s concentration improve. We advise you to set a time limit for completing a task.
This can be handy in regards to household tasks and also homework and studying. For example, request that your child learn a certain amount of pages in the next 20 minutes.
This being said, keep in mind that while some children flourish with short-term goals, others do not. Some children may feel pressured and become anxious, causing them to actually lose focus.
4. Allowing time for distractions
Remember, kids are kids and they need time to relax and have fun. Give your children time for distractions. This will allow them to burn off energy once they’ve finished a task. It will also help them focus better on the next task at hand.
The objective is for your child to be able to focus as much as possible. For that to happen, it’s good to allow your child to have fun doing something entertaining beforehand.
However, once it’s time to begin working, you should avoid all distractions, including television, music, etc.
5. Exercising
The final suggestion we want to share with you today is that your child participate in sports. Physical activity helps keep the brain oxygenated and in shape.
Any sort of training will increase your child’s cardiac rhythm. This in turn boosts blood flow and makes memory sharper.
At least 30 minutes of exercise per day are very positive for your child. This can mean running, swimming, dancing, riding a bike, etc.
All of these activities are beneficial for brain health, cognition and help to increase the size of the hippocampus. The hippocampus serves to catalyze long-term memory in the brain.
Like any other ability, concentration can improve. The secret is being consistent and putting into practice the above techniques. What are you waiting for to get started?
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Joe L. Frost, Sue Clark Wortham and Robert Stuart Reifel. (2001). Play and child development. Merrill, Prentice Hall.
-
Duncan, G. J., & Magnuson, K. (2011). The nature and impact of early achievement skills, attention skills, and behavior problems. Whither opportunity, 47-70.
-
Ericsson, I. (2008). Motor skills, attention and academic achievements. An intervention study in school years 1–3. British Educational Research Journal, 34(3), 301-313.
-
Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with poverty in mind: What being poor does to kids’ brains and what schools can do about it. ASCD.
- Cadavid Castro, Martha Alicia. (2009). “Inteligencia, alimentación y nutrición en la niñez: revisión.” Perspect. nutr. hum 11.2 (2009): 187-201.
- Martin, A., Booth, J. N., Laird, Y., Sproule, J., Reilly, J. J., & Saunders, D. H. (2018). Physical activity, diet and other behavioural interventions for improving cognition and school achievement in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3(3), CD009728. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009728.pub3/abstract?cookiesEnabled
