Preschoolers have notoriously short attention spans. But participating in preschool often means your child has to focus on a task for a period of time. While these tasks aren’t particularly long, they are a means of helping your child learn. There are some things you can do to help your preschooler focus long enough to complete a task. While there will still days when completing a task becomes impossible, you can still help them improve their focus.
While you are stumbling around in the morning, your preschooler is likely wide awake and ready to play. Sure, they have preschool ahead but getting through the task of just getting dressed can be a huge chore. The solution to this problem is to get up earlier and let them have some playtime before preschool. Playing for a few minutes will hopefully burn up enough energy to allow them to focus on the tasks ahead. It can improve their concentration at preschool.
Breakfast has long been touted as the “most important meal of the day.” Experts are actually agreeing with this statement. But even with breakfast, your preschooler may have a hard time focusing. Instead of fueling up with a sugar-laden cereal which can cause them to lose their focus, opt for more protein and less sugar. This way, their stomachs aren’t distracting them and they don’t get the unnecessary energy spike that usually accompanies a rush of sugar.
Start a little at time. Focusing on a task does take practice. Practicing on tasks at home is a good way to build up their attention span. Ask them to do something for five minutes to start out with. Then gradually build up to a longer time before they take a break. There will be times in which that five minutes is hard to attain. In that case, just let them have their break and then get back to it. It does help if you assign something that they like such as drawing a picture.
Boys are generally less focused than girls when it comes to preschool. It has everything to do with boys just wanting to play instead of sit. That’s perfectly fine. Instead of forcing them to sit still, try incorporating some type of physical activity into the task. This will help with focus as well as make learning a little more fun. While they will need to sit still for some things, getting them a little tired during the day can help them focus a little better.
These are a few ways to help increase your preschooler’s focus during the day. While the urge to play may outweigh the urge to learn, these techniques can help your preschooler gain this very necessary skill for kindergarten.