In the modern learning environment, helping children with poor concentration develop their attention skills is a big challenge for many parents and teachers. Below are some effective methods to teach children with poor concentration, dear readers, let’s explore these methods!
Teaching methods for children with poor concentration is a topic that is attracting the attention of many parents and teachers in the current educational context. Children’s difficulty in maintaining attention not only affects their learning outcomes but also their psychological and social development.
Create a quiet and comfortable space for children
Children are often very sensitive to surrounding factors, and distraction can occur with just a small sound from the TV, the voice of others, or the sound of birds chirping. These factors can make it difficult for children to maintain concentration while studying. Therefore, creating a quiet and comfortable learning environment is very important. Children’s learning space should be neatly arranged, with only necessary items such as tables, chairs, books and learning tools, to bring a feeling of comfort and cleanliness.
Moreover, when children are concentrating on a certain task, parents need to ensure that there is no distracting noise. Turning off the TV, phone, and other sources of noise will help children focus better on their tasks. If you cannot control the noise from the surrounding environment, a useful solution is to have your child wear headphones and listen to soft instrumental music to minimize outside disturbances.
Create a quiet learning environment to increase your child’s ability to concentrate.
Help children break down tasks
Breaking down tasks is an effective method recommended for children with concentration problems. Experts say that children often have difficulty dealing with a large amount of work, which can create a feeling of stress and not knowing where to start. Therefore, helping children break down tasks into smaller parts, arranged in order of priority and reasonableness will be very helpful.
For example, when children need to complete homework, instead of asking them to sit and do it continuously for many hours, parents should guide them in each subject in a specific way. Start with difficult math problems, then move on to writing exercises and finally English. Between each stage, children should have time to rest to recover and increase concentration during the learning process.
Set a time for children’s activities
To improve children’s ability to concentrate, parents should set a specific time for each task that children need to do. This will help children become more aware of the need to focus on completing assigned tasks.
Parents can also give attractive rewards to encourage children, making them more interested in the task. In addition, there should be serious forms of handling so that children are aware and try harder for the next time.
For example, during meals, parents should set a time limit for each meal. For main meals, children need to finish within 30 minutes. If children have not finished eating after that time, parents should firmly take back the food. This will help children focus more on eating and avoid distraction.
On the contrary, if children finish eating within the prescribed time, parents can reward them by letting them watch TV for about 10-15 minutes or play their favorite game. Rewards can be changed flexibly depending on the child’s preferences, but parents should also avoid overusing them so that children do not think that only rewards are needed to complete tasks well.
Help your child develop concentration through games
Daily play activities are also very effective in improving children’s concentration. Most children love to play, so parents can combine learning and playing to help children develop their concentration.
Parents should spend time with their children participating in useful games such as finding the difference, playing lego, fishing, drumming, or finding lost objects. These games can help children improve their concentration, practice observation skills, and promote creativity.
However, the choice of games should be based on each child’s interests and needs. Children can only concentrate well when they are really interested in the game. Therefore, parents should carefully choose suitable games, avoid forcing children into a framework, as this can cause discomfort and stress for children.
Learning while playing is also an effective method of teaching children with poor concentration.
Accompanying children
To improve children’s ability to concentrate and pay attention, the role of parents is extremely important. Many studies have shown that regularly talking and interacting with children is the most effective and simple educational method.
When children play and are close to their parents, they will feel comfortable and safe, which makes it easier for them to focus on activities, including studying. This closeness also encourages children to be more interested and happy in everything they do.
In addition, guidance from parents also helps children identify goals and find solutions to complete work more effectively. When children feel lacking in concentration, parents can adjust and encourage them to regain their spirit and attention.
Encouragement and praise from parents are also a great source of motivation, especially for children of primary school age, when they are very eager to receive recognition from their family. Being accompanied and praised by parents will motivate children to try and adjust themselves.
Accompanying children is a method of teaching children with poor concentration that receives positive feedback.
Arrange reasonable relaxation time for children
One of the most scientific and healthy educational methods is to give children time to rest and relax according to their age. Training children’s ability to concentrate is a long process and requires proper education. Children are often playful and do not have full awareness like adults, so it is normal for them to be easily distracted.
Parents should not force children too much, but should create conditions for them to have time to rest and play. When children are relaxed, they will feel happier, thereby increasing positive energy and improving their ability to concentrate on future activities.
Specifically, children cannot be required to sit for hours to do homework. After about 20 minutes of intense study, children need at least 5 minutes of rest to restore concentration. Therefore, in any learning environment, children need breaks to play, eat and relax, thereby improving learning efficiency.
Set specific and detailed goals to help children focus better
Setting clear goals is an important method to help children with poor concentration improve their abilities. For each task, parents should identify specific goals and guide children carefully about what needs to be achieved, helping them to be more aware of the work they are doing.
However, each child has different abilities, so parents need to monitor and set goals that are suitable for each child’s ability, avoiding creating too much pressure. In addition, do not expect too much so as not to hurt the child’s psychology and spirit.
For example, with children in grade 1, parents can ask children to remember and learn 5 letters and 5 numbers in 30 minutes of self-study at home. This method not only helps children concentrate better but also raises their awareness of completing tasks. When children achieve their goals, parents should gradually increase the requirements to encourage them to make more efforts.
Listen, share and praise children
In the process of helping children improve their concentration, parents should also learn to listen, share and praise them regularly. Children have their own desires and needs, so parents need to take the time to understand and sympathize with what their children are aiming for.
In addition, do not use corporal punishment or scolding to educate children. Parents’ anger does not help children progress but only makes them feel scared, anxious, and can form an inferiority complex, making them feel useless.
Instead, use sympathy and sharing to learn and overcome weaknesses with children. Parents should also empower children, help them become independent and not dependent on others, thereby helping children maintain more effort and focus.
Regularly praising children is also a way to help them increase their ability to concentrate.
Limiting children’s phone usage time
With the strong development of technology, children today have many opportunities to access information through compact phones. Although smartphones bring many benefits, improper use can be harmful to health and life, especially in young children.
Children from 2 to 3 years old have begun to get acquainted with technology devices such as phones and iPads. Many parents, because of their busy lives, often let their children use phones as a way to entertain and look after them. However, letting children use phones too much can negatively affect their development, especially their ability to concentrate.
Therefore, the most effective solution to minimize distraction in children is to manage and limit the time children spend with technology devices. Instead, parents should encourage children to participate in healthy outdoor recreational activities, helping them develop necessary skills and practice better concentration.
Improve concentration through nutrition
A healthy and reasonable daily diet is also one of the effective ways to improve children’s concentration. Nutrition experts say that some foods can help increase concentration, support children’s brain development and thinking.
Therefore, parents should learn and consult experts to build a daily diet for their children, including foods rich in antioxidants, protein and vitamins. Children also need to have the habit of eating lots of green vegetables, nutritious fruits, meat, fish, eggs and nuts, helping children to be smarter and learn more effectively.
In addition, children need to limit the consumption of canned foods, processed foods, sugary snacks and carbonated drinks, caffeine. These foods can harm the ability to concentrate and negatively affect brain activity, while increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes in children.
Hopefully, the methods of teaching children with poor concentration presented in this article will support parents in effectively applying them at home. Helping children requires perseverance and patience, so parents need to accompany and make efforts with their children to achieve better results.