Does your children find it hard to pay attention in class or to what you are saying? If your answer is a yes, you are not alone. Children now can become easily distracted. This creates problems during their learning time when they cannot focus in school or at thome. Here are some ways that can help a child to be more attentive during their learning.

(See related article on 6 ways to make your child pay attention in general)

Tip 1:  “Blind” exercises to focus their attention

You can start to strength your child’s attention by using what I called ‘blind’ exercises. These exercises require your child to close his or her eyes and focus on his or her other senses.  For example, you can create a game where you ask your child to identify different sounds or smells. Using other senses will prevent the children from being distracted by sight and helps them to concentrate on the task at hand. Do this once or twice a week for a period of 3 months and you will see an improvement in the attention span of your child.

Tip 2:  Choose the seating position of your child

If your child is easily distracted, discuss with the teacher to let him or her to either sit in front or away from other children who cannot focus. This should improve the amount of time they can focus in class, instead of distracted to talking with his or her peers, or doing something that the teacher might not be able to see.

Tip 3: Reward system for focusing during class

You can agree with your child on some small rewards for them to pay attention during class. For example, giving them a star for every 15 minutes seated in class is a form of small but powerful reward, especially if you enhance it with a redemption system such as an ice cream for every 10 stars collected. This activity will help to be coordinated with the teacher for you to confirm your child actual behavior in class.

Tip 4: Reduce homework to smaller chunks

If you child cannot pay attention to doing his or her homework at home, try to break them down in smaller chunks that can be completed quickly.  This will give them more opportunities to go for breaks and satisfy their urge to focus on other things. However, this activity should not be over done to avoid amplifying your child’s inability to focus.

Tip 5:  Examine any physical problems that might cause the attention problems

Some attention problems are related to physical issues. It is worth to make a trip to the doctor to see if anything might be causing your child to not pay attention in class. Examples of such physical problems can include:  over eating certain kinds of food, lack of sleep, worry about certain things. All these physical related problems will lead to your child failing to focus in class.

Not all the tips will be applicable to your child. Your child is unique and only a parent can know what specific activities will help him or her to pay more attention in class.