Children are not necessarily born with or without the ability to concentrate. This is a skill they learn. Children who are easily distracted, such as children with ADD/ADHD, will struggle to learn this vital skill.
Here are some of the things which will adversely affect a child’s ability to learn to concentrate.
Things we do wrong :
Break concentration to ‘help’
Don’t be tempted to ‘help’ a struggling child. This is their way of problem solving. Always wait for them to ask for help. If they get frustrated, calmly ask them what they are trying to do. Then give instructions or pointers on how they might achieve what they are attempting.
If they are able to come right on their own, they will feel really good about it. Building self esteem is very important.
We don’t give children responsibility
Children need to take responsibility. They should have regular daily chores and tasks that need to be done before certain times or events, such as before breakfast, just before homework, before bedtime, etc.
Theses tasks should be explained clearly. If the child understands the reason why something needs to be done, they are more likely to want to do it. Once the child knows what needs to be done, you should avoid asking them directly to do them, but rather encourage or hint at the fact that they still need to be done. The ideal is to encourage children to do so without being asked as this helps them to ‘concentrate’ on what needs to be done.
They will, no doubt, feel great when mom or dad says ‘well done for putting your dirty clothes in the laundry basket before bedtime’. Positive reinforcement will build self esteem and encourage them to perform these tasks without being asked to do so.
We don’t follow a strict enough routine
Children should know what to expect. Doing things at very similar times each day helps a child to know what to expect. This helps them to feel secure.
Major changes to a normal schedule will result in a problem unless they are explained in advance to the child. This helps the child prepare for the changes and understand why the change is needed.
We ask to much at one time
Give clear instructions each time something is asked of the child. Children with ADD/ADHD have problems processing complex commands.
Make sure that you give short instructions. Rather break a task into two or three smaller instructions and let the child complete each one before giving the next instruction. As they progress the instructions can become more complex.
Whenever the child struggles to understand, simply break it down again. Short instructions or easier to remember and understand.
Conclusion
If we put these simple steps into practice in our everyday lives we can drastically increase our child’s chance of acquiring the skill of concentration (and reduce the need for medicines (drugs) like Ritalin, etc.)