Many parents think that their children are not well concentrated on homework and are often distracted by extraneous stimuli. Sometimes these fears are confirmed by the teacher. Of course, such behavior affects performance and discipline, but in addition, it can eventually result in fatigue and irritability: if the completion of the case takes not half an hour, but half a day with constant breaks, the motivation to learn is lost. We tell you what to do to ensure that the student is not distracted.
Properly allocate time
It’s much easier for children to do things when there are strictly allotted hours for it. And the child’s schedule should be made taking into account his opinion: for example, after school he wants to rest and play for an hour or two (and if we are talking about junior classes, it is very likely). Then homework can be postponed until early in the evening.
The process itself can also be structured. First, offer the student to make a list of all the tasks and arrange them in order from the most difficult to the simplest. You can start from any side – let the child show independence here. But hint to him that if you leave the difficult for the last, he is likely to start this task already tired. You can offer him to use the tomato rule, when periods of work of 20-25 minutes are replaced by small five-minute breaks, in which you can get up from the table, warm up or have a snack.
Teach to focus
Performing several things at the same time is a task that even the adult brain cannot effectively cope with. And the child, who already tends to be distracted, will face difficulties all the more. Therefore, he should remember an important rule: if you need to perform a task, you need to concentrate on it. And don’t try to do anything else along the way.
A good addition to this advice is to teach your child not to be distracted until the task is completed completely. But then you can take a short break by watching some interesting video on the Internet or playing – it will be a kind of reward for the psyche.
Get rid of external stimuli
This is almost the most common reason why children are distracted from lessons. Anything can be an irritant. Many people immediately come to mind TV and gadgets, but the children themselves most often say that their parents and brothers or sisters distract them from their homework. Therefore, adults and other households should also do a little work on themselves and stop bothering the student when he is sitting at the textbooks. If the child has his own room, respect his personal space and offer to hang a “Do not disturb” sign on the door during classes: among other things, it will help to build a trusting relationship.
And now about TV and gadgets. In fact, this is a continuation of the thought of focusing on one case in one unit of time. Many children think that they can do their homework quite successfully while chatting with friends. Or scroll the social network feed. Or watching your favorite show. Of course, all this has a negative impact on productivity. Older children can already plan their own affairs and time, but first-second grade students do not yet have enough experience. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary temptations, they should buy a button phone as their first mobile phone. In addition, a simple mobile phone will not distract the student from class, but will allow him to always stay in touch so that parents do not worry about where their child is and what they are doing.
For example, the Philips Xenium E2601 in the clamshell form factor will not only work up to 14.5 hours of talk time, but will also warn you about an incoming call and battery level using the front panel indicator. The model should especially appeal to girls who love beautiful things and will be able to choose a color to their taste: adult dark gray, calm blue or eye-catching red.
Philips Xenium E2301 is more suitable for boys – thanks to a capacious 3000 mAh battery, it can work without recharging for more than a month, and a reinforced case will protect the phone when it falls during games. It is also worth noting the real male colors for young users: green and dark gray.
Take breaks
Many children do not like to sleep during the day, but often their restlessness and inability to concentrate on one task for a long time are associated with fatigue. You can offer your child to do power nap (short sleep to recharge) – lie down for 30-40 minutes. During this time, the body will not have time to plunge into the deep phase of sleep, and awakening will be easy, but the energy reserve will be restored.
Another option to help the brain focus is breathing exercises. The simplest is breathing by the square method. Inhale – hold your breath – exhale – hold your breath. Inhalation and exhalation last for 8 seconds, breath holding – 3-4. When we force our psyche to consciously control a process that does not require control in ordinary life (we breathe without hesitation), unnecessary thoughts and background processes slow down or disappear altogether, and brain resources are freed up to solve specific problems.