Concentration problems affect more and more children. Many adults assume that the child is just being naughty, and "that's how they act". Experts debunk this myth: Attention issues are a serious problem in today's stimulating world. Fortunately, concentration can be worked on.
Every parent knows this situation: their child is running, screaming and unable to sit still. Parents repeat: "calm down", "focus". Distracted, agitated children do not think about focusing on one game for even 5 minutes. Helpless parents acknowledge such behaviour with a shrug stating: "apparently they have had enough".
However, psychologists leave no doubt: there are no naughty children. If a son or daughter cannot stand still, they are signalling to us that there is something wrong. This is often combined with attention deficit disorder (known in the literature as Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD). This problem affects more and more children. Concentration disorders are not without consequences: they make learning difficult and lead to emotional problems.
A generation with a cellphone in their hand
Concentration problems are to a large extent a consequence of the world we live in and the way we raise children, from an early age placing them in front of TV screens and laptops, handing them phones before they can speak.
In order to concentrate, a child's brain needs focus and separation from external stimuli. And this is becoming more and more difficult these days. Emotional stimuli and distractors (distracting stimuli) consume our cognitive resources. Under their influence, it is difficult to absorb important information. This applies to all of us, but for children raised with a cell phone in hand, concentration is much more difficult than for adults.
There are several symptoms that can be diagnosed in children with attention deficit disorder. If our child looks as if they haven’t heard what we have said to them, even if we repeat it 100 times, we already have a clear signal that something is wrong. Similarly, when they start an activity and then switch to the next one after a short while and they are not able to focus on one task. Problems with maintaining order in your own environment, organisation of work and all activities may be another symptom. If our child loses school supplies, is easily distracted even under the influence of weak stimuli, forgets about daily chores, does not follow orders accurately, becomes discouraged with tasks that require intellectual effort - all this means that they most likely have problems with concentration.
A child in front of the TV? A Bad idea
Fortunately, such disorders can be worked on. A specialist diagnosis is key. Professionals will tell us how to work with our child. There are a number of exercises that will improve a child’s concentration. Limiting distracting stimuli will certainly help - as much as it is possible in today's world. It is important, for example, to ensure that the child does not perform several activities at once, but focuses on one. It is worth remembering that notoriously leaving a child in front of a screen "for the sake of some quiet time" is asking for trouble.
Teachers have a big role to play, fortunately they are well aware of contemporary problems among the youngest. Easily distracted children need outside restraint and adult control. Through proper activities and exercises, you can develop your attention span. Modern teaching aids come to the rescue of educators.
One of them is the onEVO interactive floor. It is a ceiling-mounted projector equipped with motion sensors that projects interactive games on the floor operated by body movement. The software helps in developing coordination and has a positive effect on interactions between children, combines play and learning, using elements of gamification. The onEVO interactive floor and the games attached to it allows not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also allows you to exercise attention and concentration in a modern and fun way.
