With their naturally curious and unmatchable energy, your child ever so often can pose a challenge when it comes to getting them to sit in one place and finish something without getting too distracted. As they are wired differently, it is normal for young kids to start off with short attention spans. In due course, as they grow older, their ability to increase attention span is developed.
Normally activities that are difficult, boring, or less interesting are the ones that affect kids’ concentration. However, in these times of the pandemic, parents are faced with the new challenge of providing online learning opportunities for their children. Child development activities for preschoolers are curated, usually in open spaces that enable children’s engagement with one another and their surroundings. Online learning does try to retain this essence of play-based, child-centered preschool education through assisted and self-paced modes. This form of engagement has required young children to engage in a way that is new to them. In some cases, it requires additional effort to increase attention span and maintain high levels of engagement in such scenarios.
Despite the changes and struggles faced, it is important to improve the attention span of children. Child development activities for preschoolers which focus on their ability to increase attention span and sustain concentration will help kids increase brain power, learn better, and builds confidence.
It is believed that a 4-5 year old, on average, can focus for anywhere between 5-20 minutes, depending on the activity. However, one must remember that attention is not rigid. Kids’ concentration varies throughout the day, from first thing in the morning, middle of the day to before naptime or bedtime.
It may not always be possible for you to change the situations that make it hard for your child to focus. But there are ways to improve focus and concentration in children. Concentration improving techniques can help train and strengthen a child’s ability to increase attention span.
Tips to Increase Attention Span in Preschoolers:
There are a number of strategies and activities to improve attention and concentration in young kids. Here are some tips to increase concentration in preschoolers:
- Conducive Learning Environment to Improve Child Concentration:
The surrounding environment can, at times, be a big distraction for your preschooler. Ideally, set up a designated, clutter-free learning space that is comfortable for your child. Understand the kind of environment your child prefers to increase attention span. In some cases, kids' concentration is more when the learning environment is quiet and peaceful, while some kids do better in an environment that has a lot of hustle and bustle. Reducing distractions can help increase attention span in children.
- Flexible Routine Helps Improve Concentration in Child:
Having a healthy routine for kids, especially as we pass through these unchartered waters of the pandemic, can help in many ways. Routines provide some structure, predictability and promote positivity both in terms of physical and mental health. Preschoolers tend to require some form of routine as it gives them a sense of balance in knowing what possibly lies ahead. All this, in turn, helps increase attention span in kids.
- Build in Planned Breaks in the Routine
When we try to tackle the question of how to increase concentration power, we often forget that continuous learning, be it online or offline engagement, can lead to a child losing focus. Brain breaks are important to let off some steam and are one of the ways to improve focus by not overwhelming them.
Most young children may require a quick break after a 5-20 minute task. Multiple small breaks throughout the day help your child decompress and reset. In preschoolers, a play break, a quick snack, some drawing and colouring, rolling a piece of clay, or a short nap can enhance their alertness. Sometimes a little bit of movement and some laughter can make all the difference! Most importantly, if you are working together on something that your child finds too challenging or overwhelming, remember it's ok to take a pause and pick from where you left off at a later point.
- Break Down the Task to Improve Concentration in Child
Studying an entire chapter or having to clean out their whole cupboard can be daunting for a child of any age. For preschoolers trying to take on too much in one go can distract them. Breaking down a task into smaller chunks can increase your child’s attention span. Completing a small task will provide your child a sense of accomplishment and motivate them to do more.
Also, work with your child to tackle one thing at a time. Working on multiple things at a time can sometimes overwhelm them. Working on one aspect at a time will increase attention span and help focus on what is in front of them at any given moment.
- Multiple Instructions Can Impact Kids’ Concentration:
In general, try not to overwhelm your child with too many instructions at a time. The more instructions your child receives in one go, the harder it may be for them to follow, especially if they are struggling to focus.
Break down the instructions and keep them concise so that it’s easier for them to follow. Have them repeat it so that you can make sure they have understood what is expected of them. Also, remember that the best way to convey instructions to your child is to be physically present near them. Not shouting requests and maintaining good eye contact are indeed some of the ways to improve focus in your child.
- Leverage Your Child’s Interests
Connect the child development activities for preschoolers to something that interests your child. Integrate play and creativity in the activities. Kids’ concentration is enhanced when the activities connect to something personally relevant to them and increase their interest.
- Focus Games and Exercises to Improve Concentration
Children tend to learn a lot through play. Engaging them with fun activities helps increase attention span in children. The memory game, spot the difference, tongue twisters, Simon says, etc are some games that enable your child to focus on thinking, planning, and use their memory. These games and concentration exercises for kids, through repeated play challenges, helps to increase brain power and improve focus by strengthening mind-body connections.
Kutuki recognizes that each child can have a mood and mind of their own. The Kutuki early learning platform builds love and engagement with content among preschoolers using interactive elements through a mixture of creative song and story-based curriculum.
Through both assisted online preschool programs and unassisted, self-paced modes of learning, the platform provides preschoolers an immersive experience that focuses on enhancing the child’s concentration in addition to addressing important learning milestones.
Even us adults tend to get easily distracted. So it’s only natural for your young one to be distracted. Kids are naturally energetic! Like in every other aspect, patience and understanding are key. Remember to recognize and appreciate positive behavior and their efforts. It builds confidence and helps your child stay motivated. Making space for them to let out their energy and be distracted is also not such a bad idea. Being able to recognize consistent inconsistencies helps. If you do feel your child is struggling despite the support and guidance, do seek help.
