21 Tips On How To Improve Your Child’s Ability To Focus

When you combine the fact that children are typically curious (a trait more adults could do to have) with the increasing rate of ADHD (current statistics show around 6% of children suffer from it), then you will understand why it can be so hard for kids to maintain their focus for any length of time.

And while we certainly don’t want to stifle their natural curiosity, there are times when we need to channel their focus on specific tasks until those activities are completed.

This article offers a few suggestions (in no particular order) on how parents can help their children focus.

Don’t Interrupt Them

If you see that your children are really concentrating on something (e.g. because they are highly engaged), then it’s best not to interrupt them.

If you do, you become the distraction (let’s face it, nobody enjoys being interrupted from something you are enjoying) and you’re sending a subliminal message that it’s OK to not finish an activity.

Allow For Transition Times

If you do need to have them stop one activity and move on to a different one, try not to make that change too sudden.

You need to allow for a transition time, which you can initiate by warning them that they need to stop what they are doing in a specified number of minutes, and then start the next activity.

This way, they have time to process the change, they can get used to having a deadline (i.e. “we will be stopping this activity in ten minutes so it’s time to wrap up”), and they won’t feel as upset that their attention is being diverted.

Shared Reading

If you want to help build your child’s ability to read for longer periods, thereby increasing their concentration skills, you can use the shared reading approach, where you read one page, and then your child reads the next.

Expand Their Vocabulary

Studies show that the larger a person’s vocabulary, the better their thinking skills are.

So, try to use the exact word (or “le mot juste” as French people would say), to help develop their language skills.

And don’t be afraid to use new words – you can always look that word up in a dictionary (either paper or electronic) together, which teaches your child the value of understanding the words they use and not being afraid of words they don’t understand.

Minimize Distractions

This is especially important when it comes time to do their homework, but it’s also of value whenever they are engaged in any activity – the fewer distractions there are (e.g. phone, television, radio), the less likely it is that their focus will be diverted to something new.

Create An Activity Room Free From Electronic Distractions

If you have, or can create, a room with no electronic distractions (e.g. no computers, televisions, radios, phones, tablets), then you should do so.

So, what should you put in this room?

A large table is perfect because they can use it for jigsaws, to build things, for art projects – anything where they may not finish the activity in one session. And the fact this is a separate space in your home means they can go back to that activity whenever they need to, knowing it will be as they left it.

You could also use this room or space for their library, so they can read with less chance of being distracted.

Practise What You Preach

Children learn by mimicking the behaviour of others, so if you want your children to learn how to maintain their focus, then that’s what you should do too.

For example, if they see you sitting down and reading a book for, say, an hour, they can copy that behaviour themselves.

Or maybe they observe you while you spend time tidying up the living room, without stopping to do other activities – which (if you’re lucky) may provide a model to follow when they need to tidy their own rooms. 🙂

Observe What Interests Your Child

When you see your children returning over and over again to certain activities, you can more or less guarantee it’s because they find those activities engaging and interesting – which in turn means they will be better able to focus on them.

You can use this information to try to find other activities that are similar to the ones you now know they enjoy, but different too so they can expand their horizons a bit.

Ask Questions Out Loud

Rather than wondering, for example, how something smells, or what would happen if you do something, or where a particular noise is coming from, ask it out loud in front of your children.

Doing this can help your children be curious and alert, which can build and maintain attention.

Let Your Children Lead The Play

Studies have shown that when children lead their playtime (e.g. by making up their own rules), they will be better engaged than if an adult / parent steers them. For example, when led by an adult, their play will be less involved and will not last as long.

Be Careful About Chatting

By the time we are adults, most of us have become adept at holding some level of conversation.

However, it’s more difficult for children to do this – chatting places a greater cognitive load on their developing brains.

So, keep your chatting sessions shorter than you would if you were talking to adults.

Inject An Air Of Mystery Whenever You Can

A mystery (or having a problem to solve) engages our brains because we want (or even need) to find the answer, and this stimulates concentration.

For children, you can set up scenarios where they have to find things (e.g. some sort of hunt), to encourage their observational, thinking, and attention skills.

Don’t Dilly-Dally With New Activities

When you have a new activity for your children, try to get them going with the minimum of delay – the more time you spend explaining things first, the less likely it is that they will retain their interest and concentration, because of that delay.

Keep Instructions To A Minimum

This is similar to the previous tip, but the focus is different.

Again, remember a child’s mind is not fully developed yet, so asking them to remember too many rules or instructions can be difficult for them to retain, increasing the chances of them being distracted before they even start.

Use A Timer

Apart from the fact that humans generally work better when there is a deadline, using a kitchen timer (which is better than using an app on your phone because you want to remove electronic distractions) helps your children be aware that there is an end to how long they need to focus on the current activity. And when you know the end is in sight, it’s easier to keep going and stay focused.

Ask Them What Works Best

We are all different – some authors prefer to write in silence, while others prefer listening to specific types of music (e.g. I have a friend who has Gregorian chants playing while he writes his mediaeval-themed novels).

Children are no different, so why not ask them what environment helps them concentrate better? Do they prefer music, and if so, what type? Do they prefer to be indoors or outdoors? Do they work better alone, or with their siblings or parents present?

Encourage Thinking Games

When I was young, I played what I knew as pelmanism, but which I think is now called concentration or memory – where a group of cards were turned down, and you could turn two up at a time. The goal was to find more matching pairs than your opponent, and it’s a great way to develop memory and concentration skills (as the name of the game implies).

These days, of course, there are plenty of apps that can do this, but using actual cards (e.g. regular playing cards, or cards from a Snap deck) is better (because, again, we want to remove electronic distractions).

Similar games and puzzles (e.g. jigsaws, checkers / draughts, crosswords, spot the difference, Connect 4, Battleship) can all help develop thinking and concentration skills.

For older children, you could also try nonograms, Sudoku, or card games like cribbage.

Ordering

This can take two forms – following a set of instructions in a set sequence (e.g. following a recipe to make food), and putting a list of things in order (e.g. alphabetically).

Both of these can be helpful in improving a child’s ability to concentrate.

Sitting Still

Most children will probably hate this at first, but the idea here is to make a game of seeing how long your child can sit still (e.g. no talking, no moving, no fidgeting).

If you have more than one child, you can turn it into an amicable competition between them, and either way, you may need to promise rewards (e.g. if they can beat their previous best time).

Break Larger Activities Into Smaller Ones

Since a smaller or simpler activity can be finished more quickly, there is a greater chance that your child will be able to maintain their focus through to the end.

So, if you have a larger project for them, try to break it into smaller, easier steps. (This is good advice for anybody, of course, and is how large projects in the office are planned.)

Be Aware Of What You Feed Your Children

Some foods can help you concentrate more, while others can have a negative effect on your brain power, so you need to be careful about what you feed them – both at meal time and as snacks.

I have an entire article on this subject if you want to dig deeper.

Naps

There was a time when young children (e.g. in kindergarten) had to take a nap in the afternoon, and there is a good reason for it – a quick nap (e.g. 20 minutes) can boost your concentration skills.

Conclusion

I hope you find a few suggestions here that you and your children will find helpful and fun.

And feel free to try out other ideas, but remember that a child’s brain works differently to an adult one.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Building A Playroom