“Pay attention”, “Stop fidgeting with your things and finish your homework”. Most of us often have to repeat this over and over at the top of our voices when our children don’t seem to focus or pay any attention, especially while they are studying.

A lot of time it becomes a challenge to make children concentrate on their work without getting distracted. In fact, in the present scenario with so much distraction around them including technology driven distractions, it is rather difficult for children, especially the young ones, to stay focused.

However, as children grow it becomes necessary for them to be attentive so that they can carry out their studies, homework and other responsibilities.

There are various factors that lead to diverting attention in kids. Some such factors that hinder focus among children are mentioned below.

Factors diverting attention:-

Lack of interest – In many occasions, the inattentiveness in children is due to lack of interest. When the kids don’t like something they are doing, they may not show any interest in the activity or task. In other way, their interest level overshadowed by factors like game or things that they like the most.

Inability to sit still – Some kids find it difficult to sit still even for a minute. They are simply too distracted and in their own world to think or do something that they are asked to. 

Easily gets distracted – Moreover, some kids get easily diverted or distracted with anything happening in and around them, which leads to lack of focus in the task they are assigned. It could be TV at home, noises in neighborhood or anything else.

Find it difficult to follow instructions – Some kids might find it difficult to follow instruction and fail to perform any given task.

All the above and many other factors hinder attention among kids. Though this has become quite common in kids these days, but it is important for parents to find out the real cause of the problem and find a solution for the same.

Now the question is how to deal with the concentration problem in kids. It is necessary to take appropriate measures to tackle the situation. Here are some techniques that could help your child focus and pay attention.

Techniques to improve focus and attention in children: – 

• Try to offer distraction free environment : This is especially required when kids are studying or doing something important. So, if you feel your child might get distracted in a certain surrounding, just try to alter it to provide an apt environment suiting his/her requirement.
• Play games that build attention : Encourage your children to play with regular toys and games that could help improve attention and focus. Keep them away from gadgets for some time and play thinking games with them like jigsaw, puzzles, crosswords, card games and so on.
• Include healthy food to improve focus : A healthy diet is also directly associated with the well-being of the child and to develop his concentration. Include proteins and all the necessary elements in food that would help your child enhance concentration levels.
• Maintain a routine to serve the purpose well : Make a flexible routine to help you and your child follow a schedule. This way the kid can manage time well and it help them maintain a routine of different activities that they are supposed to do throughout the day, including playing, studying and so on.
• Allow enough breaks and nap time : Allowing nap time of 20 minutes to half an hour after school and break for playing or any other activity that the child likes is also important. Moreover, small break of 5 minutes or so between studies might also help in boosting concentration among many children who find it difficult to study at a stretch. 
• Plan a system of goals and rewards : In case of studies, set small time bound goals to complete a chapter or a topic. Also reward the child for completing a goal successfully. Reward doesn’t necessarily have to be in terms of goodies or so, but you can reward the child by praising him or her, or by letting the kid so whatever he or she likes for sometime after studies. Like for instance, letting the child read his or her favorite story book. 

Role of child counselor

In most cases, little effort from parents, elders and teachers can help the child enhance concentration and attention. However, if it doesn’t work, then you can take the help of a child counselor to assess if any behavioral problem is there or not.  Pro Tip: Zoylu.com provides numerous ways through tasks, quizzes etc to enhance concentration and focus among young kids. Zoylu also help parents for its child counseling facility by tying up with renowned counselors across the country to help you deal with issues related to attention and concentration of your kids.