Your child's concentration skills

Concentration involves keeping your mind focused on one thing for a certain amount of time. And it doesn't simply refer to work, concentration applies to most things which require attention. From watching television, to reading a book, from doing homework to listening to someone speaking, all these activities require concentration in order for understanding to take place and information to be extracted.

What affects concentration skills? 

Some children and adults have difficulties with their concentration skills. There are many factors which may affect the ability to concentrate.

• Age - generally younger children find it harder to concentrate than older children and adults
• Motivation and interest - if we are interested in what we are doing then we are more likely to concentrate for longer
• Personal circumstances - if we are preoccupied with something happening in our personal life we will find it harder to concentrate on specific tasks
• Understanding - if we understand our task, we can focus for longer
• Our surroundings - the conditions around us can affect our ability to concentrate
• Health - our diets, sleeping patterns, and general health can all affect our concentration skills

Conditions which affect concentration

Alongside these factors, there are also conditions that can affect the ability to concentrate.

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) - many children with ADHD have been described as suffering from an ‘inattentiveness'. This can refer to a short attention span, over-frequent changes of activity, and extreme levels of distractibility.

Autism - as with autistic adults, autistic children often focus on a particular area which interests them. It can therefore often be difficult to stimulate their attention in other areas.

Learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia - lack of understanding can hamper a child's motivation to concentrate. If the child is not given the correct support and provision, they can feel excluded from the learning and therefore will become distracted or frustrated.

How you can help:

• Make a note of the times your child finds it difficult to concentrate and explore any reasons which may be affecting this
• Be realistic - don't expect your child to concentrate for too long
• Help to stimulate your child's interest - interest is motivation, so help your child tap into their interests, and help make things more interesting for them
• Give plenty of praise - you could even offer little rewards for good concentration, but remember not to go overboard with this as too much of a reward could be distracting in itself!