9 ways to help your child concentrate.

A recent study has shown that children who learn to concentrate properly at an early age achieve much higher grades not only at school but also at university. With that in mind, here are some tips to help children learn to concentrate.

1. Help children understand their feelings. Researchers say that children who have problems focusing do not know how to control their feelings because learning and concentration require the ability to manage emotions. Children may feel very anxious about something that is completely unrelated to the task at hand, which is naturally very distracting. Find the root cause of your child's anxiety and talk about it with your child. With parental help, even the biggest problems no longer seem so big. It is also important for the child to understand that there are limits to everything and that even when upset, emotions cannot control behaviour.
2. Limit the amount of time a child can spend in front of a computer/TV/tablet/smartphone screen. It's easy to see that sometimes a child can spend hours in front of a TV screen but not be able to concentrate for 15 minutes to do their maths homework. Research shows that children who spend a lot of time in front of different smart devices have a harder time concentrating and staying focused at school.
3. Give your child specific instructions. Divide the tasks into several smaller tasks. This will not only ensure that the child has understood the task correctly, but also develop the child's organisational skills.
4. Recognise boundaries. Even adults can't always focus easily for long periods of time. You can use your child's age as a guide - a five-year-old should be able to concentrate for at least five minutes, while a ten-year-old's mind will start wandering after about ten minutes. Knowing this, divide the tasks into appropriate time slots.
5. Set the timer. A simple timer will help develop your child's time management skills. Knowing that they have a limited amount of time to complete a task will help them quickly return to it when their mind wanders. The timer also shows that the child's work has an end, which often gives children not only relief but also motivation.
6. Play games. According to researchers, movement or musical games help children develop concentration skills.
7. Make puzzles and build with blocks. Puzzles and building with blocks encourage children to concentrate intentionally.
8. Control your own behaviour. It's no secret that childrenoften adopt their parents' behavioural patterns. If you often give your child only part of your attention, reading an email on your phone with one eye, be aware that you are not setting a good example.
9. Provide a safe environment. The most important thing is that your child feels safe and knows that there is always a loving adult around whom he or she can fully trust. Without a sense of security, a child will not be able to concentrate fully, as the anxiety of insecurity will be a constant distraction.

If your child is having difficulty concentrating, Brain Gym can help. Register for a FREE consultation by email: brain@braingym.lt