We all hear about more children suffering from attention deficit and learning disorders associated with it. However, how many of us know that concentration is like a muscle that requires regular exercise<\/strong> to strengthen? Most children are naturally able to concentrate on activities that are fun and enjoyable. It\u2019s the ones that are more \u2018boring\u2019, difficult or less enjoyable that really challenge their focus. Regardless whether the information is presented on paper or on screen, a child needs to learn to focus and concentrate to be able to function well in life.<\/p>\n What is \u2018Good Focusing\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n Child development experts suggest that the average child should be able to concentrate on one task for 2-5 minutes multiplied by their age<\/strong>. So an average 8-year old should be able to focus on a given task from 16 and up to 40 minutes. Of course, whether an 8-year old is able to focus 40 minutes or lesser will vary by child and by tasks. Attention spans also tend to wane as the school day progresses due to heat and tiredness. So what can we parents do to support our child to improve their focus and concentration span?<\/p>\n From our own trial-and-errors, we\u2019ve found 5 methods that seem to work well so far for our children:<\/p>\n Getting sufficient sleep affects our mental alertness and has a direct correlation to our ability to focus and concentrate. Children should stick to a regular sleep routine as having irregular sleep cycles can really affect concentration and physical well-being. But how do we ensure that children get enough sleep?<\/p>\n Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n Bring the children out for sports, physical activities and fresh air. Children love to move, so bringing them outdoors helps to release their \u2018pent-up\u2019 energy. This regulates their natural tendency to fidget. Letting them get some physical activities helps with blood circulation to the brain, thereby improving their ability to focus. Research also suggests that exposure to natural surroundings, including parks, playgrounds and green spaces prove beneficial for children’s brain development.<\/p>\n Research has shown that children whose parents are actively involved in their lives often fare better at school. At home, parents who engage children in conversations and brainy games (whether in a game of chess, Lego, Sudoku or puzzles) can enthuse their children to do the same.<\/p>\n Being involved in children\u2019s day-to-day learning narrows the parent-child gaps, improves bonding and enhances family communication. Children whose parents are fully involved feel more valued, secure and loved. This triggers the release of endorphins (the happy hormones), which enable them to focus and concentrate better.<\/p>\n The moment a child enters primary school, they are bombarded with information, ranging from homework to projects deadlines to teachers\u2019 instructions. This is over and above other sensory information that they get bombard with from everywhere outside the classroom. Children who are overwhelmed can become forgetful and be demotivated because they keep getting reprimanded for their lapses in concentration.<\/p>\n A simple trick is to remind our children to use their school diaries to record and organize their thoughts, ideas, instructions and deadlines. This \u2018de-clutter\u2019 their minds so they can focus on the more important, urgent tasks at hand. It’s also helpful to teach our children how to make a to-do list to help prioritize and get things done systematically.<\/p>\n Another common fact we know is that food affects moods. While there aren\u2019t any foods that actually make us smarter, the choices we make in our family\u2019s diet can play an important role in optimizing our children\u2019s brain functions.<\/p>\n Tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n Totally fat-free, cholesterol-free, preservatives-free and made from premium quality chicken, adding BRAND’S\u00ae AlphaMynd<\/strong><\/a> to our children\u2019s daily diet will provide essential Vitamin B Complex – a group of eight B vitamins which play an essential role in metabolism, nervous system and immunity development. Our bodies do not make Vitamin B Complex so that\u2019s why it\u2019s important kids take in Vitamin B Complex through foods.<\/p>\n I remember my Mum feeding me Brands Essence of Chicken, especially before major exams (like PSLE and \u2018O\u2019 levels). Now that I\u2019m a mother myself, I am introducing BRAND’S\u00ae AlphaMynd<\/strong><\/a> earlier to my children, to get them accustomed to the taste and ensure they get adequate amounts of Vitamin B Complex for optimum brain power and growth. <\/p>\n The ability to focus and concentrate is an essential life skill, which has an impact on what our children can achieve in the future. Making a few simple lifestyle changes can help our kids focus and concentrate better so they can truly enjoy their childhood.<\/p>\n This post is brought to you in collaboration with BRAND’S\u00ae<\/strong><\/a>. This post also appears on theAsianparent<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the key life-skills that we set out to inculcate in our daughter as she begins her primary school education is the ability to focus and concentrate. This includes being able to focus during lessons and being able to concentrate to complete all the tasks set before her. Think about it \u2013 the ability […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":44276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[462,230,68],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Brands1010.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59hHF-bwg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44284"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44297,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44284\/revisions\/44297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}5 Ways to Help Our Kids to Focus<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Get Enough Sleep<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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2. Get Outdoors<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Get Involved<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. Get Organized<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. Get Good Nutrition<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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