Your child just can't focus on one thing, he keeps drifting off in his mind and finds everything else more interesting than what he's talking about? Don't worry, "promoting concentration in children" is a topic that concerns countless parents. The little ones are just discovering the world. It's only natural that they want to absorb as much information as possible and are still very sensitive to stimuli of various kinds. Nevertheless, it is important to promote children's ability to concentrate in order to prevent problems from arising during their school years that may even drag on into adulthood.
A well-developed ability to concentrate is essential when it comes to going through the day in a structured manner and mastering all the challenges that everyday life holds in store with flying colors. That's why we're going to show you how to improve your concentration. Promote child can!
Before you can begin to target your child's concentration, you first need to find out exactly where he or she stands right now. Are you worried that your child may already have developed a lack of concentration? Then you need to pay attention. Observe your child's behavior in everyday life very closely.
Can it occupy itself with one toy for a long time or does it switch continuously to the next one? When you read him a story, does he listen attentively and remember what happened afterwards? Does he find puzzles or games of skill exciting or perhaps even frustrating? Observations of this kind can give you initial clues as to whether or not your child might have a concentration problem.
If your child is already in school, ask the teachers to keep an eye on his or her ability to concentrate if you think there might be a problem. They experience your child in completely different situations than you do and can give you insightful information about the circumstances under which he or she has problems with concentration. Maybe everything is going perfectly at daycare or school and the problems only manifest themselves at home, for example, when it comes to doing homework. Then you know it's not about your child's ability to concentrate per se, but rather about disruptive factors in the home environment.
As your child grows up, you will notice that he or she can concentrate well or less well at times. This is quite natural and may simply be due to the fact that his interests change and he therefore has to keep finding new things that he finds exciting. Just think about yourself. If you have to do a task at work that you find totally boring, you'll be more easily distracted than by one that interests you, right?
That's exactly how your child feels, of course. But if you observe that he or she has problems with concentration in general, you can help him or her to slowly but surely reduce them in various ways. How can you do that? We've put together 7 tips for you!
Positive words and praise have an incredible amount of power. They have much more effect than supposedly motivating phrases like, "Next time it will be better." Even if you don't mean anything by it, you're signaling to your child that his or her current performance simply wasn't good enough. Even if there is room for improvement, you should never give your child the feeling that he or she has done badly, because this is extremely demotivating. If these situations become more frequent, your child will eventually give up, because you're unintentionally giving him the feeling that he's not good enough. Feeling, never being good enough.
The older your child gets, the more he or she will know exactly whether his or her performance is good or not. They don't need your feedback for this. What they do need is support from you. For example, if they have achieved a bad grade then go in search of things that it has done well.
Perhaps, despite the grade, it has solved an entire task completely flawlessly. Or he or she really made an effort to learn a lot, even if it was obviously not enough. But that's not what counts, it's the effort your child has made. And he or she deserves praise for that, because it motivates him or her to concentrate even better next time.
If you as a parent motivate your child, that's already worth a lot. But it's even better if they can motivate themselves. This is known as self-motivation. This is particularly important when it comes to helping children concentrate.
As a rule, children can concentrate best on something that they could choose themselves beforehand. If you have problems in this regard, it is therefore quite helpful if you allow your offspring to choose which topic they would like to deal with today. They are free to choose what they want to learn more about at home.
If the child has chosen something of his or her own free will, there is a certain basic interest that keeps him or her focused for longer. If your child eventually manages to concentrate for a long time on a topic of his or her own choosing, this will gradually happen even with subjects that he or she finds less exciting.
If your child comes home from school and just doesn't feel like studying or doing homework right away, the air will quickly become thick if you force him to do it now. They will have even more trouble concentrating than they already do, and that doesn't help either of you. Give your child a little more freedom in this regard and, for example, set a specific time when the homework should be done - for example, by dinner time. That way, he or she has enough time that he or she can organize freely.
When your child comes home from school, pay close attention to the impression he or she makes. Is he or she in a good mood because he or she had a great experience, and is it easy to get excited right now? Do you notice that the concentration level from the lessons is still quite high? Then take advantage of this opportunity!
Did your child have a bad day or is tired? Then give him a little time first and ask him when and where he would like to do his homework. This way you can always create the best environment for your child's concentration.
Imagine that each of your days looks the same. At work, you work through the same routine over and over again, and nothing new ever happens. That's boring, tiring and takes the joy out of your job, doesn't it? Your child experiences this even more intensely than you do. If every day is structured in the same way, he or she quickly loses the Motivation and thus the ability to concentrate also dwindles.
It needs something to look forward to. It needs variety and excitement. When it comes to the topic of "promoting concentration in children," these two key points are absolutely essential. So why don't you wrap up learning new vocabulary in a story? Or you can turn solving math problems into a coloring picture in which each result is assigned a certain color.
Sometimes it even helps to simply change the location. For example, do your homework in the garden when the weather is nice or have a learning picnic with classmates!
We live in the heyday of technology and digitization, and even the youngest among us know how to operate smartphones, tablets and the like. So why not make use of them? There are now countless great learning apps or online platforms that can be adapted exactly to the age or grade level of your child. They are designed to make learning exciting and varied and thus address the topic of "promoting concentration in children" in the best possible way. They offer a great opportunity to further develop your child's ability to concentrate.
Do you notice that your child's mind is drifting? Then intervene immediately, before he is completely lost in thoughts of something else. Simply putting your hand on his shoulder can be enough. The important thing is that you Patience Don't lose focus if your child's mind keeps drifting. Always return the focus as quickly as possible without appearing agitated or even annoyed.
When it comes to the topic of "promoting concentration in children", there is often the question of how long a child should be able to concentrate at all. Of course, this depends on age. For children between the ages of five and seven, experts give 15 minutes of concentration time, and for children between the ages of eight and ten, 20 minutes. So the older your child is, the longer he or she can actually concentrate.
But don't overdo it by any means, but give your offspring enough breaks! Ideally, they should spend them in the fresh air and get some exercise. Also, make sure your child can stay focused for 15 minutes or more. If not, then take breaks earlier and extend the concentration phases bit by bit.
When it comes to helping children concentrate, there are three factors that determine success and failure:
They have a significant influence on your child's ability to concentrate and should therefore be the first points you check if there are problems. So: Is your child getting enough sleep at night? Sleep? Elementary school students need about ten to eleven hours. From the age of 12, this figure is reduced to eight to nine hours. However, individual sleep requirements can also be different.
With regard to nutrition, you should of course make sure that it is balanced and healthy. Of course, your child is also allowed to snack once in a while. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as it doesn't happen all the time. Keep in mind that sugar causes blood sugar levels to spike quickly, but then drop again just as quickly. A low follows, your child gets tired and concentration is gone.
Exercise in the fresh air also helps your child concentrate better. The brain consumes a lot of oxygen, and it fills up on it outside. Exercise helps the body absorb it in greater quantities. So get your child excited about outdoor pursuits and games!
With small Play you can easily develop your child's ability to concentrate. For example, how about letting your child tell you about his or her day - but backwards! The human brain is trained to go through things chronologically. If your child is suddenly asked to tell the story the other way around, his or her brain faces a challenge. A particularly high level of concentration is required without your offspring noticing.
Surely your child has a favorite story that you should tell him over and over again, right? Great, you can take advantage of that! The next time you tell it, include a few mistakes for your child to figure out. That way, they'll listen even more intently.
Do you remember the game "I'm packing my suitcase"? There is hardly a better way to improve concentration and also the Memory better promote in a fun way. Plus, it's fun for young and old! So gather the whole family in the living room and let's go!
There are countless ways to improve your child's ability to concentrate. Once you have created the optimal conditions, you can use a wide variety of methods that have proven to be very helpful when it comes to "promoting concentration in children".
Take a look at the E-Book one of the most successful memory trainers in Europe, Markus Hofmann! In it, he shares a whopping 20 years of experience with you and gives you valuable tips on how to make learning fun and successful for your child.
