How to help your child learn to concentrate and pay attention?
Focusing your child's attention is crucial to their intellectual and educational development. Teaching your child to focus is a process that requires patience, strategies, and regular practice. Many children have trouble learning and concentrating, which can affect their performance at school and their daily functioning. In this article, we present effective attention exercises for children and ways to improve their concentration in everyday life.
Why do children have trouble concentrating when learning?
✔ Excessive stimuli, such as television, smartphones or computer games.
✔ Lack of appropriate learning conditions, e.g. noise or distractions.
✔ Insufficient sleep and rest.
✔ Improper diet affecting brain function.
✔ Stress, pressure and anxiety related to studying.
Effective ways to teach your child to concentrate
1. Creating the right learning environment
✔ Provide a quiet and well-lit study space.
✔ Remove unnecessary distractions like the TV and phone.
✔ Establish a regular study routine so your child knows when it is time to study and when it is time to play.
2. Concentration exercises for children
✔ Puzzle games – help develop concentration and logical thinking.
✔ Exercises to focus your child’s attention – e.g. games for listening carefully, finding details in pictures.
✔ Mindfulness techniques – breathing exercises and short meditations help calm the mind and improve concentration.
✔ Board games – require concentration and develop the ability to think logically.
3. Regular breaks and physical activity
✔ Your child should take short breaks every 30–40 minutes of learning.
✔ Physical activity such as yoga, dancing or running helps increase concentration.
✔ Short physical exercises between study sessions support the ability to concentrate.
4. A healthy diet that supports learning memory and concentration
✔ Introduce foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids into your child's diet, such as fish, nuts and seeds.
✔ Avoid excess sugar and processed foods that can cause energy swings.
✔ Support regular hydration – proper hydration affects the attention span of children.
5. Learning through play
✔ Reading books, solving puzzles and riddles strengthens concentration.
✔ Memories techniques such as rhymes and associations aid in learning.
✔ Creative games that develop the ability to concentrate, e.g. drawing or creating stories from pictures.
6. Help in coping with stress
✔ Teach your child simple relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and positive thinking.
✔ Avoid excessive pressure – the child should feel comfortable in the learning process.
✔ Use a system of rewards and praise to motivate them to learn.
Summary
Problems with learning and concentration are common among children, but with the right strategies, they can be effectively minimized. Regular exercises for children to focus their attention, a healthy diet, and appropriate learning conditions help improve a child's learning to concentrate. It is worth remembering that every child develops at their own pace, which is why patience and support from parents play a key role in the educational process.