|
|
The Secrets to Raising a Smarter Child |
||||
|
How to Increase Attention Span in Children - Methods and TipsBy Andrew Loh Enhancing or improving attention span in children is a long process. Attention is a God-given skill that helps children and adults achieve even the most difficult goal in life. Unfortunately, attention and its span are not too well-defined in young children. In variably, it is very low among children and this makes learning difficult at times. Children who possess better attention spans are more likely to do better in their classroom than those who do not possess such an important skill. To enhance attention span among children, parents may need to devise a dual faced set of techniques, those that remove barriers to poor attention spans and those that they can introduce which eventually enhance longer spans. Whatever the technique you use, one thing is certain - you just cannot hurry in a quest to pressurize your children to reach the task in the fastest possible time. In essence, any method used to enhance attention span among children involves two important issues. The first issue relates to things that you will need to avoid while boosting attention span in your children. The other relates to those things that you can promote to enhance attention spans. Things to avoid because it can shorten child's attention span Make sure to remove things or objects that impede your child's ability to concentrate and enhance attention spans. Few of the objects that impede a child's attention spans are the TV's, video game consoles and computer games. Although, these objects are good at improving some important skills among children, an over use and excessive indulgence might prove counter-productive. A two-hour TV watching and game playing is perfectly OK. However, anything beyond this gap is extremely disadvantageous for growing children. Research studies conducted in the past indicate that every hour of TV watching and game playing beyond the recommended level of two hours might decrease attention span by about twenty percent. Make sure that you exercise some form of control over TV watching and game playing. Allow about one hour of these activities on a daily basis and stop them soon after alarm bell rings! Never ever, give your children toys and playthings that make them think less and become creative. Avoid junk food and introduce brain-boosting diet Bad nutrition is bad for health! Food that is extra oily and junk in nature may result in inferior and inefficient brain-cell network connections that lead to average IQ and disappointing classroom performance. A vegetable rich, red meat less and seafood-enhanced diet may play wonders to your children's brains. In addition, it will also enhance attention, focus and concentration. Reduce stress and anxiety Extraordinary stress is known to cause decreased attention span in children. Anxiety among children may lead to loss of focus, concentration and decision making abilities. Too much stress may even lead to a sense of disorientation and disconnect that is quite dangerous for brain health. Things to introduce in their children's daily life to enhance attention span Now, initiate your children to those things that help them enhance attention spans. These issues make your children smarter, brighter and better focused in anything they do in life. Let your children become independent Make your children independent in their thinking and activities. Never ever, help them unless they need your help very badly. Bring home games and activity sets that help them enhance attention spans and focus. Puzzles, word games, scrabbles, board games, chess, math and strategy games, and activity sets would help them streamline attention span and concentration. Introduce reading and writing in their early age Early literacy is necessary for your children. Develop a culture for literacy by introducing activities that make your children learn by doing. Once they know the importance of literacy, you can help them learn how to read and write. Similarly, arts, painting, crafts, music and dancing will help them develop focus at an early age. Meditation and yoga are the best tools for developing concentration and focus Yoga and meditation are two of the best tools available to enhance focus and attention. Consult an expert in these activities to teach your children the art. Yoga and meditation help your children control breathing and inhalation which in turn assist them in concentrating on a give task for more time. Exercises and cycling are the other activities that help children learn how to focus. Introducing brain foods for your children Good food is the essence of life. Make your children eat and live better. Avoid junk food that is rich in trans-fatty acids and dangerous toxins. Let your children eat vegetables and fruits. Eggs and fishes are rich in brain boosting factors while vegetable and fruits are reservoirs for anti-oxidants. Meat (non-red) that is rich in lean muscles are good for body building while whole grain and complex carbohydrates are excellent with their fiber and sugar complexes. Avoid soda and junk beverages that are known to cause slow brain decay in adults. Avoid sugary diet because they need extra digestion to break them into simple sugars. Set a rigid routine and stick to it Set a routine for your children to follow and complete. Do not deviate from this routine. Let children learn the importance of finishing tasks on time so that they can develop the necessary attention span needed to complete their tasks. Provide necessary facilities for your children to study Bring home tables and chairs for your children to write and study. Ensure a friendly environment for your children to complete their homework on time. Children who do their homework on their bed are known to degrade their existing attention span. Reduce distractions and noisy ambiance Distraction may play spoilsport in your effort to teach children the art of attention spans. Switch off TV and computers when your children are studying. Stop talking to your friend over phone when your children are doing their homework. Play dart games to improve attention span Playing dartboard are an excellent way to improve attention span in children. When children throw darts on the boards placed in a distance, they concentrate on the inner most circles in the dartboard. 
|
Checkout these other child development articles
|
|