The best ways to develop your child’s concentration level

Saying that this generation is facing a highly complex conundrum would be an understatement. Numerous studies on the mind continue to demonstrate that a person can only concentrate on a certain number of things at once. This fact is concealed by the fact that we all still attempt to juggle multiple tasks at once, and kids are no exception.

As a result, multitasking and attentiveness are ongoing battles for the millennials of our generation.

How often have you had to remind your youngster to focus on studying for their impending test instead of fiddling with a random object or doodling in their class notebooks?

Distractions are piling up, and this has a significant negative impact on young minds. With the increased usage of social media and other platforms vying for your attention and keeping you on their applications for as long as possible, it is understandable why it is so difficult for kids today to sustain attention.

Now that being said, you can assist your youngster in becoming more focused and attentive by doing the following: 

1. Proper Nutrition – It is a simple no-brainer that is the most important and foremost thing when it comes to children’s cognitive abilities and development. It is like the old adage goes “you are what you eat”, so a diet that is too high in fructose, sugar, starch or processed in nature can have a lasting impact on a child’s both physical and mental health.

They must eat a balanced diet that has the correct proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats for their bodies and minds to function at their healthiest and best capacity.

2. Ample Sleep – Neuroscientists and medical professionals have written a plethora of books that emphasize the importance of getting sufficient, deep sleep. In any daily task, a rested mind is what makes all the difference. The pituitary gland in your child’s body releases the vital human growth hormone while they are in a deep sleep, thus if they are sleep deprived they miss out on the advantages they would have had from this growth hormone. Additionally, it is getting harder for kids to get a full night’s sleep due to increased screen time and late-night social media use, which eventually causes them to perform poorly on even the most elementary tasks.

3. Critical-thinking games – There are a fair amount of games you can play with your kids that will tickle their sense of fun while simultaneously challenging them to think critically and hunt for solutions.

These games have a big impact on how kids develop a scientific temper and how they feed their inquisitive minds. Scrabble, finding the difference in various images, riddles, or even making a game out of repeating tongue twisters are a few examples of such games.

4. Limited screen time – These days a lot of children’s curriculum is being taught online which makes it all the more important to limit their screen time to a minimum.

A child’s health is affected by how much time they spend in front of a screen in many different ways, among which lack of attention is one. To say that blue light has a negative effect on people’s eyes and circadian rhythms would be an understatement. Ultimately it is also safe to say their increasing screen time robs them of the pleasure of experiencing the present moment and their real environment.

5. Playing outdoors – The benefits of physical activities and engaging in sports are known to all. Engaging in various sports inculcates so many important elements in your child’s personality including teamwork, cooperation, coordination, and developing a sense of leadership. Every day, consistently engaging in physical activity for even just 30 minutes can greatly enhance a child’s mind-muscle coordination, which is used throughout their academic careers and even in other areas of their lives.

6. Establishing a set study schedule – Ensuring that a child sits in the same spot every day for the same number of hours trains and tricks their brains into associating that particular location with the particular task of studying and only studying. As a result, it makes it simple to concentrate on studying while seated at a desk. Distractions are also eliminated by doing so.

7. The Pomodoro Technique – The Pomodoro Technique is an attention-demanding task management strategy that can be used by students of any age group for tasks other than only studying.

The strategy is as simple as concentrating for no less than 25 minutes at a time, followed by a brief break. In the end, this is repeated for several sets. For instance, a child might study for 30 minutes without stopping, then reward himself with a 10-minute break, only to return to studying for 30 minutes without stopping and then taking the break once more. This method makes a task look easier than it is. This technique makes a task at hand seem less tedious and something to look forward to because it’s easy and you know you don’t have to spend long hours doing it while also finishing what you set out to do.

8. Meditation and breath work – Meditation and practising some form of deep breathing have always been associated with having a calm sense of being and it also allows your child to have a clear mind meanwhile instilling patients in their personalities. Deep breath work or deep belly breathing is known to have astonishing benefits in the human body for instance it is known to improve blood circulation and produce serotonin and dopamine which are also popular as happy hormones. New studies have also found that meditation also increases the production of melatonin in the body which is the hormone that helps in restful sleep. It also makes the mind still and present at the moment foregoing the past or the future. This act of engaging in meditation or breath work has tremendous relaxation effects on humans and is an activity that has long-term effects that will benefit them throughout their lives. Developing the habit of meditating every day consistently for as little as 2 minutes can help your child tackle mental health issues like anxiety, depression or any other personality disorder better and not be overwhelmed by any form of external stimulus.

9. Active Communication – This activity is one of the activities which have an indirect impact on your child’s concentration and attention span. Practising Active communication at home and making sure everybody gets a chance to express their emotions and thoughts is a great way to inculcate the habit of sharing their opinions and telling your child that they are in a safe environment to share their thoughts, experience and feelings. This way the children don’t suppress their emotions and are confident in themselves because they know their feelings are valid and always heard in the household.

Frequently asked questions:

•    How does the programme aid kids in improving their ability to focus and pay attention?

Our workshops are largely designed in such a manner that focuses on kid-friendly topics that make learning enjoyable and simple.

•    How can this workshop help introverted children with self-expression and confident?

Our curriculum is made keeping the different personalities of young kids in mind and it has something for everyone. Our workshops are made to hone their strengths whilst working on their not-so-strong suits at the same time.