Also read : Helping children to concentrate – Things we do wrong
Ways to help concentration :
Observe and see what interests the child
Leave your child to his or her own devices and see what they get up to. Typically they will do the things which interest them. Once you know what interests your child, it becomes easier to give them tasks they will feel more comfortable concentrating on.
Once they learn and feel what it is like to concentrate, they will be able to start improving in areas which are of less interest to them.
Show them what concentration is
Help them to know what distracts them. When you see your child has become distracted, explain to them what they are doing and what they should be doing. Let them know that staying focused on what they should be doing is called concentration.
Help them to learn what it feels like to be distracted. This knowledge will help them to self-diagnose when they are becoming distracted and give them the ability to get beck to the task at hand.
Play games which require concentration
Memory game : Place cards with two pictures of each kind face down. Turn the cards over two at a time. When a pair is matched they are removed. Parents can play along by taking turns or the child can be timed.
The child will need to concentrate on where the matching pairs of cards are. The more the child concentrates, the easier concentration will become for them.
Simon Says : Stand facing each other. Tell the child what to do. They must only do as you tell them if you start with ‘Simon says…’. For instance, if you were to say ‘Raise your right hand’ they should do nothing. But, if you say ‘Simon says raise your right hand’ they should raise their right hand.
This requires them to concentrate and listen to what you are saying.
Play outdoors : Playing outdoors assists in concentration. It is especially good just before sitting down to do homework. Play games like ‘Find a bug’ – call out a bugs name and they must find one as quickly as possible.
Just simply going for a walk around the neighbourhood can be an adventure. Try spotting different things. Ask questions like ‘How many different yellow flowers can you see?’ etc.
Eye Spy : “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘S’”. A simple game like this will have your child concentrating on finding things beginning with the letter in question.
This game can be combined with a nice walk outside to add to the adventure.
Pattern Matching : A simple game which uses shapes or coins to create a sequence. This sequence is shown to the child and then covered. Use a stopwatch to time the child as they try to reproduce the pattern you created.
When they are done, note the time and remove the cover to compare. The child’s concentration and sequencing skills will improve the more you play this game.
The Quite Game : Sit your child down and see how long they can sit still and quite. The longer the better. You could either time them or make it a challenge in that they need to sit still and quite longer than you do. Children delight in being faced with a challenge against mom or dad.
Over time a clear improvement should be noted.
Conclusion
As you can see there are many games to play. This is by no means a complete list either. Keeping your child entertained while learning new skills is key to success.