Attention is the starting point of learning and essential to the formation of memory.

Children are naturally curious and energetic, but when they are expected to engage in activities that they do not consider to be fun, they get bored easily and turn their attention to what they consider more interesting. Play is children’s work, however, they are expected to enter school and structured learning earlier and earlier.

In spite of that, it is important to help you child build effective attention skills. One research study found that a child’s attention skills at age 4 correlate strongly with whether they graduated from college by age 25.

Attention skills are important because they impact other life skills including:

• Executive functioning skills
• Sensory Processing Skills
• Self-Regulation

So, if your child’s attention is immature or impaired, he will be weak in other skills that influence learning and living.

Your child has poor attention skills if he, among other things:

• Shows a lack of interest
• Is unable to sit still and maintain a train of thought
• Is easily distracted
• Appears to be daydreaming
• Has difficulty following instructions

The good news is that attention skills can be improved and when children improve attention skills, they do better in school and in life.

Generally, children can concentrate on one task for two to five minutes per year old. For example, if your child 7 years old, expect 14 to 35 minutes of attention from him.

Keeping that in mind, here are some things you can do at home to build your child’s attention:

1. Feed your child balanced, nutritious meals. The brain needs proper fuel to function optimally.
2. Establish consistent rules and routines in your home. Use visual schedules to illustrate them.
3. When giving directions, be physically near your child. Stand in front of him, go down to his eye level and be direct. Then have your child tell you what he is expected to do.
4. Use simple language when giving directions or making requests. Be clear and specific, and if necessary, show your child what to do.
5. Break down multi-step tasks. If your child thinks the given task is too hard, he will zone out quickly and stop paying attention to it.
6. Find a way to make structured, repetitive school work, which younger children find dull, more interesting. Be creative and think out-of-the-box.
7. Provide a specific, distraction-free space for learning activities.
8. Limit television watching and video games. Their quick-changing frames have been found to promote inattention.
9. Understand your child’s preferred method of learning. Some children prefer to process information visually, others auditorily, and many kinesthetically. Knowing your child’s learning style will guide you in helping him find ways to understand the concepts he needs to learn, and in the end contribute to maintaining his attention longer.
10. Teach your child what attention means and what “paying attention” looks like by role-playing different scenarios. Then, have him work at a task or listen to a recorded story. At various intervals, have a timer goes off. Have him tell you whether he was paying attention at that moment. You can provide visual feedback by recording your child and watching the playback together.
11. Engage in 15 minutes of active play before starting lessons and, again, break learning sessions into chunks. The increased oxygen will help your child’s brain to stay focused longer.
12. Play focus games and exercises that build attention. For example, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, card games such as ‘Memory’, picture puzzles that require the child to find what’s wrong in the picture or spot the difference.
13. Set time limits for the completion of a task. Tell the child what needs to be done and the time frame for completing it. Use a visual timer so he can monitor his progress.
14. Provide opportunities for physical movement. Most children need movement to learn. Instead of having your child sit at his desk or table to complete his work, allow him to stand or kneel while working.
15. Use your child’s energy pattern to help him. Some children have high energy in the mornings while others are more energetic in the evenings. Have your child tackle tougher tasks during his high energy time. This will help increase his concentration power and sustain his attention longer.
16. If you notice your child is consistently avoiding a specific type of work, ask him to rate his perceived level of its difficulty on a scale of 1 to 10. If he responds with a level of 8 or higher, ask him what he thinks could be done to make it a 2 or a 3. You may be surprised at his response.
17. Celebrate small wins. Praise the outcome, not the child. For instance, “I think you did a super job on…”
18. Use effective communication. To illustrate, instead of saying, “I thought I could count on you to pay attention,” ask, “What could you do differently?”
19. Have a doctor or nutritionist check his diet for allergens. Some additives in food cause behavioral reactions in some children like irritability, fatigue, and decreased concentration, and other symptoms.
20. Most importantly, model attention for your child, remembering that behavior is caught more that taught. When he speaks to you, pay attention to him.

Since attention cannot be observed directly, it must be assessed by the way it affects the child’s information processing, learning, and memory. That means you must be observant and evaluate your child on an ongoing basis.

If he seems to be improving slower than you anticipated, remember that training attention requires frequent and consistent practice, and children improve at their own pace.

As you work with your child to improve his attention skills, you will enjoy the added bonus of a strengthened relationship with him.

Which attention builder will you try first?