If you are reading this article in the middle of your work, it simply indicates that you are distracted. We, similarly to our children, are constantly distracted in this stimulus-filled environment.
Due to the fast-paced technology age, our children are suffering from technology overload. They simply have shortened attention spans where they can’t focus to complete simple tasks.
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Unless you have got your children examined for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we should not jump to the conclusion that children suffer from this disorder. Instead, we should look into how we can eliminate excessive distraction and look for ways to secure our children’s attention span.
Urgent Needs for Children to Improve Their Attention Span
Here’s a shocking statistic. 50% of children aged 8 to 18 juggle between watching television and looking at social media while they are completing their homework. If this situation persists in the long run, our children will suffer from lesser creativity and weaker problem-solving skills.
So, can you see the urgency to improve your children’s attention span? If your children are able to focus on their tasks, they are more capable to complete their daily tasks.
Excelling in their school performance, children will develop a better relationship with their peers and family members. What really matters is that they will be able to obtain important details and information by listening attentively and jotting down notes.
Read on to find out these effective solutions to improve your children’s attention span.
4 Long-Run Solutions to Improve Your Children’s Attention Span
Solution 1: Be Firm and Consistent About Routines
Children are more likely to get distracted when they do not have a certain time frame for their tasks. Therefore, as parents, we need to guide our children to structure their daily lives.
To begin with, you can use a daily timeline with your children. Get them to jot down the time of waking up, having meals, taking naps, completing homework and going to bed.
Then, paste this timeline at a visible place so that your children are constantly reminded of what they need to do at a certain time.
We also need to ensure that they follow their timetable in order to improve their attention span. It might be challenging initially, however, this is the right time to teach your children about delayed satisfaction.
They need to learn to stay focused on short-term and long-term goals that might not reward them instantly. Be well-assured that if your children managed to follow the timetable, they will change in terms of attention, sleep and emotions.
Solution 2: Limit On-Screen Time to Stay Focused
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Ever since they are young, we need to secure our children from the over-stimulation of the technology. So, we should only allow one to two hours of high-quality screen time.
During this period, children will learn and watch beneficial videos from television and smartphone applications. We also need to be strict about the conditions where our children are allowed for on-screen time.
If you have a few children, you can set up rules where everyone can only have their free time with gadgets until everyone has completed their homework. With this, our children will be able to focus longer to complete their tasks. The elder siblings will help to monitor their little brothers and sisters to complete their tasks.
Here’s the urgent reminder for parents: never ever allow your kids under age 2 to be on screen with any gadget. Spend some quality time with your kids by using picture books, puzzles, outdoor activities and little conversations.
When you show your kids unconditional attention and listening ears, your kids will certainly learn to focus. Moreover, set your children’s bedroom as a non-gadget space. This is to ensure that your children sleep on time and have sufficient energy to stay focused for the next day.
Solution 3: Discover Your Children’s Interest
As adults, we are most likely to get distracted by phone notifications and social media feeds while we are doing mundane jobs. So, we need to understand that our children will also lose their attention when they are doing tasks that do not interest them. Thus, we need to help our children to discover and nurture their hobbies to improve their attention span.
For instance, for pre-school children who are reluctant to write alphabets, we can opt for alternatives such as wooden blocks, Play-Dohs, chalks and even marker pens.
Instead of online mobile games, we can accompany our children in physical games that are equally interesting and exciting. You can try out board games, memory games, puzzles, dominoes, card games, and dice games to strengthen their attention muscles.
Furthermore, you can bring them out for a walk around the neighbourhood or even around your own house. Get them to notice little yet interesting details such as the colours of the flowers and the feel of the tree trunks to improve their attention span.
Solution 4: Instill the Concept of Task Completion Once Started
Even we, as adults, will get discouraged by a complicated tas. Yet, we still need to complete the tasks assigned to us. So, how do we do that? We outline the little steps to complete the project, right?
Similarly, we should help our children to break down their tasks to retain their concentration. This is how it works. When our children complete a small piece of the task, they are more motivated to stay focused to complete the next step.
They will be more likely to stay until they complete the task as they experience happiness and satisfaction from time to time. To enhance the effectiveness, we can give them some positive short reminders from time to time.
Furthermore, never give your instructions from a distance. Make sure you are staying close with your children until your children complete their tasks and homework. With this, your children will be able to sustain their attention longer as you are physically present with them.
It’s Now or Never for Better Attention Span
As improving attention span is a continuous effort, we need to start early as it is easier when the children have not given the exposure to technology.
In the battle of improving our children’s attention span, we need to be physically present with our children so that you set a good role model to your children. So now, get right back into your work and after work, you can start applying these solutions with your children.