In the present era when there are numerous distractions, it isn’t uncommon for students to have difficulties in focusing, more so while they are young. As students grow and have more homework and responsibilities, they need to be more focused to finish their tasks.
Concentration and focus require regular work to strengthen them over time. Some students may be better at staying focused than others but every child has the ability to focus with regular working on it. Focus and concentration are critical skills that are required for students in school and extracurricular and also when they enter the working world.
It is mostly seen that students are able to concentrate easily on activities that are fun and enjoyable to them but are on the other hand easily able to lose their ability to concentrate on activities that may be more boring or difficult to them. Some factors have been identified that are seen to impact a child’s focus that may not be realized by parents or teachers. These can include factors like the amount of sleep or a messy workspace. get assignment writing help from myassignmenthelp online.
Five factors that are seen to impact a child’s ability to focus
- Anxiety or stress
Students who are habitual of multitasking or tend to focus on many things at the same time can reportedly experience stress or anxiety. The focusing ability in children can decrease even more with rise in anxiety. This can be a self-defeating cycle in many children – the focusing need along with the stress of getting work done.
How to recognize this:
- Procrastination in the child with a reluctance to go to school.
- Difficulty in concentrating or completing schoolwork.
- Short-term behavioral abruptions, like mood swings or acting out.
- Child is acting withdrawn and is liking to spend a lot of time alone.
How to stay focused:
It is important for parents to figure out the reason for the stress in your child. Sit down with the child and talk to him. Encourage your child to close his and take deep breaths to clear his mind and he is ready to focus again. This simple meditation can be quite refreshing and effective.
Make sure that your child has enough time between school and other activities with enough time for each to avoid any stress. Remember that every student needs a break from school work and some time to relax.
- Eating habits
What your child eats can have a big influence on his focusing ability. Fast food over healthy, well-balanced meals and no physical activity can result in low energy. This makes it difficult for students to focus on their activities.
How to recognize this:
- Kids skip breakfast
- Visible lack of motivation
- Unexplained fatigue
- Trouble in paying attention
- Low mood or forgetfulness
How to tackle this:
Make sure that the child eats breakfast every day and the day must be full of healthy, well-balanced meals that are rich in protein and healthy fats. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega 3-rich foods are the foods that have been known to improve child’s concentration.
- External distractions
Smart phones, messy workspaces, gadget and chatty classmates are some of the main distracting elements for students. Some children can filter these distractions better than others while others have a harder time. This makes paying attention to the teacher in class even more challenging.
How to recognize them:
- Disorganized homework
- Frustration while doing school work
- Cluttered and messy workspace
- Excessive use of cellphone
- Distracting classmates in the class
How to tackle this:
Avoiding distractions is very difficult for students. The best way is to create a working space for children where they can focus without the presence of any distractions. Parents must make sure to remove the cell phones from the working space or encourage child to set it to “do not disturb” mode while working at home or in class.
When your child is facing trouble in focusing at home, then parents must encourage him to take short breaks from the work. For classroom distractions children can practice a simple activity of closing eyes and taking deep breaths to enable focusing better.
Effective study notes taking ensures that the child spends his time mainly reviewing the topic and not searching for any missing information. Agendas and calendars can be a great tool for making students accountable for any due work and be on time for all submissions.
- Boredom lack of challenge experienced by some students
Some students don’t find the classroom lessons challenging enough to keep them engaged and interested. This results in a loss of interest which leads them to stop paying attention.
How to recognize this:
- The child is able to understand concepts faster than the rest of the class.
- He routinely achieves high grades and excels in everything consistently.
- The child is able to understand the material but still receives lower grades.
- The child does not seem excited about school.
How to tackle this:
Enrichment tutoring programs can be really helpful for the students who need more challenge to make the things interesting for them. These programs can be the key to get them back on track for continuous learning. Enrichment programs have been proven to be beneficial for students who can quickly understand class content than their peers and due to this might feel bored at school. These enrichment programs provide the students with more advanced material that makes them excited about and get them engaged with learning.
Students and more commonly younger ones are immensely energetic. This makes them even more difficult to focus on their work and daily activities without getting distracted. Providing the child with techniques to improve his concentration can be started at very young age for better results over time. Once you have figured out the underlying factors that are related to your child’s inability to focus on even the smallest of work, you can exactly know how to help him build his concentration and focusing skills. The factors discussed once understood and recognized, it becomes easier to tackle them.
