Some children may experience concentration problems when learning, doing their homework, writing, and even engaging in fun activities. Their attention spans may be shorter than their peersâ or they may be unable to focus on the task at hand. So how to overcome children's concentration problems and develop concentration with brain focus exercises?
Attention problems can be a major issue in a childâs daily life and their development, and it can be a fearful and anxiety-inducing time for parents. Does your child struggle to focus? Are they easily distracted?
If you face similar problems and are looking for ways on how to improve focus and concentration exercises, you can find many concentration tips below. But before we get to it, itâs better that you make sure you understand the definitions of some terms correctly. You can find the definition and differences between concentration and focus in our previous blog post. So letâs move to attention span.
Attention span is the amount of time during which you can focus on a task without getting distracted. Thus, it has a major role in your performance on a specific task. On the other hand, focus is also a kind of attention, but it refers to a concentrated form of it. That means tips on how to increase focus, how to improve concentration and short attention span all aim at reaching a better performance in any task or life in general.
The attention span is a particularly important issue in children. The simplest reason for this is that children are in a learning phase and the longer their attention span, the greater their learning potential.
We will mention some attention exercises below, but if you want to get more detailed information, you should definitely check out our âHow to Improve Short Attention Span: Tests, Games, Exercisesâ blog post.
A series of exercises designed to improve your child's mental performance and ability to focus. There are many factors that contribute to strong attention skills, and education is clearly one of the most important and effective ones.
NOTE: You can also use educational brain apps such as MentalUP.
MentalUP provides interactive attention-building brain exercises in the form of sound, images, and animations. It also offers suitable workouts for kids to improve both their brain and body! đ
The necessity of brain exercises to develop cognitive abilities, such as attention and focus, is indisputable. However, if parents are negligent and donât encourage their children to challenge themselves with brain and concentration exercises, then their child may never tap into their full potential.
If you want to improve your child's concentration activities and memory skills, we highly recommend using educational materials. In addition, here are 10 tips on how to build concentration that is worth their weight in gold:
We cannot claim that a quiet environment is ideal for every child to boost concentration. Some children can only focus in very quiet environments, while others may focus better in slightly noisy environments where they do not feel alone. This one is highly recommended if you are also looking for a way on how to improve focus at work.
TIP: If you need more detailed information about learning styles, please visit the following page to learn the most effective forms and tips for learning.
You are what you eat â and so is your child. Healthy nutrition is directly linked to the power of attention and concentration activities, as well as the mind.
To ease children concentration problems try to avoid feeding them sugar-rich foods and have them consume foods that increase concentration while studying instead. Make sure that your child eats plenty of meat and eggs, which are rich in protein.
Routines are not boring if you turn your child's routine into a fun one. Plus itâs a great way for parents that are seeking methods on how to increase mental focus.
A routine can offer your child many advantages in the upcoming years, as well as help to increase their concentration skills. For example, a child who is accustomed to their routine knows when game time is over and itâs time to study. This routine allows the brain to practice self-discipline.
A child who is aware of the necessity of studying after playing a game can quickly concentrate and resume their routine.
Many children are only ready to pay attention after a good night's sleep. It is not easy for a child who wakes up early in the morning to maintain concentration over a long day.
A 20-minute nap after school can provide additional mental and physical strength. Another important method to improve concentration and memory would be introducing short breaks, as they are also necessary for children to regain their attention. However, it may be inconvenient to schedule toilet breaks and snack breaks while theyâre actively studying and learning.
When the human brain thinks that a task is boring, it tries to postpone it. Usually, valid excuses are needed to avoid feeling guilty (like feeling the need to go to the toilet).
Since children learn better by playing, it's okay to sprinkle some fun into their education by adding entertaining mind focusing exercises. Lessons and ordinary exercises may fail to attract your child's attention. Yet every child is interested in playing games and it would be a great way to use brain focus exercises.
NOTE: With intelligence and attention games, you can turn the opportunity of developing your children's mental skills into great fun! Don't forget to take a look at MentalUP's brain games that improve attention and intelligence skills with just 20 minutes of fun exercises per day.
Big assignments are intimidating. Waiting for your child to finish an entire assignment at once is a difficult task. If their goal is to finish the assignment, then you can help them divide this work into pages or even paragraphs.
When big tasks are broken down into smaller tasks, it is easier to make continuous progress, which is very motivating for children and perfect for those with short attention spans.
âNothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.â - Henry Ford
Every child learns differently. Some can easily process information by simply hearing it, while others need to touch or experience it. One of the reasons for your child's lack of attention might come down to their learning style â so why donât you try one of the below-learning methods on your child instead? Some golden tips on ways to increase your concentration when studying include:
Sometimes concentration can be achieved when your child knows a task must be completed within a certain period of time. For example, you can set a time limit of 20 minutes for your child to read a specific number of pages. Thus, it can be an effective way of how to get children to focus.
People with time constraints tend to focus more deeply. Of course, you need to develop a successful reward system.
Knowing there will be a reward can help your child focus on completing a single task quickly. The rewards themselves can be educational too â for example, give some maths puzzles for a child who enjoys doing maths, so it turns into a win-win concentration tip!
Good rewards will help parents who seek tips for their children on how to focus for long periods of time, since that way they can be sure that their child will stay focused on the main task much longer.
Children are energetic by nature and they can get easily distracted. They should be given the opportunity to explore these distractions, so theyâre ready to focus again when the appropriate time comes. No one, including adults, can focus on a single activity for long periods of time without distractions.
Your child can develop stronger concentration skills by regularly doing concentration exercises and activities such as solving IQ tests or brain teaser puzzles. But should they be presented in a traditional printed format or an interactive digital environment?
To answer this question, you have to accept that digital tools used for education are much easier to reach, much cheaper, and online processes are much easier to track, so you can follow the improvement of your childâs concentration activities.
You might think that the only reason these concentration exercises, games, tests, and brain teasers are online is because of the devices we use in the digital era. However, past research by prominent industry figures, such as Norman Mackworth, a famous British psychologist and cognitive scientist known for his pioneering work in the study of attention, proved that this is not the only reason.
The result of Mackworth's scientific experiment (known as the Mackworth Clock) clearly shows that in processes requiring high attention, if there are multiple and active variables on the screen, it is easier for one to detect details.
Digital technologies are responsive to live situations. This is why parents often prefer digital methods of learning over traditional, paper-based learning. The usefulness of books is indisputable, but in situations that require continuous practice, itâs best to go digital.
For example, the answer we choose in the book cannot respond to us, but it is possible to practice more efficiently while interacting with the screen. The pioneers of cognitive science, such as Mackworth, have proved this in different ways.
For children to focus carefully on any activity, it must be fun. In today's world where tablets and smart devices â in short, technology â are dominant, books do not always coincide with children's understanding of fun.
According to experts, children aged 4 to 5 years can focus on an activity for 2 to 5 minutes. In older children, attention and focusing time is in the range of 4 to 20 minutes.
Of course, it should be noted that attention spans are directly related to how interesting the child finds the activity. Even an adult who doesnât find the meditation interesting has a low concentration range.
Most materials that provide attention strengthening support have been developed by professionals. However, these attention strengthening materials cannot be expected to cure attention deficit disorder, and should only be considered as supportive tools.
You can use these supportive materials to develop your different focus skills such as sustained, divided, alternating, and selective attention. If you are curious about it, you can have more information about supportive exercises here and improve yourself while having fun.
Both physical and mental exercise have an effect that boosts concentration. Doing concentration exercises positively affects keeping the mind fresh and mentally activating the individual. When attention exercises are performed regularly, it is observed that brain muscles develop like other muscles of the body. Mind-focusing exercises contribute to school success by increasing learning skills in children. You can also use suitable outdoor activities for kids to improve their focus.
You can support your child's concentration with MentalUP. Besides 150+ concentration games, MentalUP offers 240+ fitness exercises for kids! đ§ đȘ
It's time to keep the brain and body muscles active with fun and beneficial activities!
There are many traditional educational materials that will help your child boost concentration skills. Some are sold as individual books, while others come in a set (books plus supporting products). These materials are available for children from 3 to 12 years of age, and will gradually increase in difficulty as the child grows older.
The content of the MentalUP Attention Strengthening App is suitable for all children from 4 years and up. Through its machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, MentalUP will automatically determine your child's attention level and offer the most appropriate gamified mental exercises.
Want to buy a tool that will help your child improve their concentration and mental performance, but youâre not sure which one? Then, you should consider these concentration tips: