Focusing

What is typical?

Children often have a wide-ranging attention span. Some children can focus much longer than others and the time they can spend paying attention to an activity can depend on how interesting they find the activity as well. Below is a list of how long your child should be able to focus on a single task, by age:

• 2 years old: four to six minutes
• 4 years old: eight to 12 minutes
• 6 years old: 12 to 18 minutes
• 8 years old: 16 to 24 minutes
• 10 years old: 20 to 30 minutes
• 12 years old: 24 to 36 minutes

While this can act as a rough guide, it is important to remember that every child is different. It is worth noting how your child’s attention span changes as they grow, with this being a good indicator as to whether or not their ability to focus for longer periods of time is increasing.

What are the common concerns?

If your child is having trouble concentrating, there is a chance they may have Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some traits your child may exhibit that are commonly seen in individuals with ADHD include:

• Impulsive — your child may seem to act without thinking or may be loud and talk over the top of others. Your child may lose control of their emotions easily and be accident-prone.
• **Inattentive **— your child may have difficulty concentrating, remembering instructions and may move from one task to another without completing either task.
• Overactive — your child may be restless and have the constant need to fidget.

Some children may have ADHD, but do not exhibit hyperactive behaviours. These children may instead only have trouble focusing and paying attention. They could also be forgetful and may be easily distracted. In cases such as these the term ‘inattentive ADHD’ can be used to describe this condition. While ADHD is a real disorder that many individuals are diagnosed with, however, it is still important to remember that many young children have trouble focusing on tasks. Children also often act without thinking and may fidget and seem overactive. Only a relative few children will have ADHD, so it is important that if you are concerned that you see your GP or paediatrician.

What can I do?

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, you can help them manage their symptoms by using a variety of positive parenting techniques, along with a range of home and classroom strategies. Some of these include building social skills and planning your child’s routine as well as ensuring consistency in your child’s learning environment. If you or your child is struggling, then counselling for the family or individual can be helpful. If your child has not been diagnosed with ADHD but is having difficulty focusing on different tasks, the below tips can help your child improve their focus:

• Reduce screen time: Excessive screen time can cause a wide-variety of issues. In children under five years of age there is strong evidence that screen time has negative effects on motor and cognitive development, social and psychological wellbeing and weight. Reducing screen time may improve your child’s focus and other behavioural issues as well.
• **Make tasks more enjoyable to them: **If a child doesn’t like reading or writing, but loves movies, try acting out scenes or finding other creative ways to engage them in the task.
• **Use fidget toys: **Fidget toys can help your child fidget with an object while still focusing on the task at hand.
• **Support your child with difficult tasks: ** If your child has difficulty with particular tasks, make sure they feel supported and encouraged to complete it. If you know your child may be struggling with a difficult aspect of a task, then supporting them through that can help keep them focused.
• Break down longer tasks: If your child has difficulty focusing for long periods of time, split the task into smaller sections and have a break after a set time of working. If you let your child relax for a short time or help them get active it can help them maintain focus on the task for a longer period of time overall.

Who can I speak to?

To have your child diagnosed with ADHD, you must see a health professional. If you are worried about your child, then it is best to make an appointment with your general practitioner (GP). This will then allow you to be referred to see a paediatrician or child psychologist that can assess your child. The signs and symptoms of ADHD can sometimes have other causes, in which case your paediatrician or child psychologist may refer you to other services or suggest different treatment. If you child does have ADHD, other issues such as sleep problems, anxiety and learning difficulties can be experienced as well and will need to be managed in conjunction with ADHD.