Improve Your Child’s Attention Span: Homeschool Strategies That Work
9 Ways to Strengthen Your Child’s Attention Span
During my student teaching days, I had a memorable day when I taught an economics lecture to a mixed 11th-12th grade class under the principal’s observation. I was being evaluated on my classroom management, content delivery, and student interaction.
The class went well and I received high marks. However, the principal expressed concern about the length of my presentation. At about 40 minutes, he worried that it might challenge students’ attention spans. The principal suggested I keep my content delivery to 20 minutes or under. Interestingly, he offered no suggestions of what I should do with the remaining 35 minutes of class time. None of my students ever seemed disengaged by the lectures so I blithely disregarded the principal’s suggestion and went on doing my thing. After all, I always had success with lectures by breaking down my information into easily digestible parts, using visual aids on the board, making ample use of metaphors to drive home meaning, and reinforcing my points repeatedly.
The principal’s concern about kids’ attention span is not unfounded. Attention spans today appear to be contracting. I regularly see discussion among my education peers about how to deal with increasingly short attention spans. Curricula are often redeveloped with attention span in mind, with an increasing emphasis on smaller “module” formats. And—as I have noted elsewhere on this blog—kids today seem less patient when it comes to attentively reading a text.
While declining attention spans is a real problem, I do think the issue can be overstated. We as parents and home educators have more direction over our kids’ attention spans than we realize.
What is Attention Span?
First, let’s understand what we mean when we talk about “attention span.” We all know that it refers to the brain’s capacity to focus on a specific task or stimulus without becoming distracted. But what factors influence our ability to maintain focus, and how can we strengthen it?
Attention span is quite complex. Whether one has a short or long attention span varies depending on the task, individual differences, and environmental factors. Attention span is closely linked to cognitive processes like working memory, executive function, and self-regulation. It can be influenced by age, mental health, stress levels, and external stimuli in the environment. People can experience profound fluctuations in attention span from stress of major life changes, as well as things as common as hunger, sleep, and technology habits.
The point is, attention span is elastic. It is not fixed and undergoes dramatic changes based on a variety of factors. If this is the case, why do we simply take shrinking attention spans as the new norm? If attention spans can shrink, they can expand as well.
Changing the Paradigm
Too much discussion on attention span takes shortened attention spans for granted and tries to work within this paradigm. But what if we change that paradigm? What if we do not plot our lessons and instruction around shortened attention spans, but rather make a constructive effort to expand our children’s attention span?
If your want to grow your child’s attention span, there are several things you can do today:
Clear, Concise Instructions: In my educational experience, children often zone out because they don’t understand instructions. Give your child clear, concise instructions on what is expected of them and how to carry out their work. This helps immensely in focusing their mind on the task at hand and makes it less likely that their attention will drift.
Break Down Bigger Tasks: Break down bigger tasks into a series of smaller steps. For example, instead of “Do you school work,” say, “Spend thirty minutes practicing your vocab words, then begin your math lesson for Chapter 12.” If you are delivering content in a lecture or discussion style, provide a bullet-point breakdown of what you will be discussing so the child knows where they are in the presentation. This can be as easy as writing out your main points on a white board.
Introduce Novelty Into Repetitive Tasks: While there is great value in repetition in education, it is also true that the brain tends to pay less attention when tasks are repetitive. By introducing novelty into your lessons, it makes the brain perk up and say, “Ooh! Something new is happening. I’d better be attentive!” Not saying every day needs to be something new, but try to brainstorm ways to deliver content differently from time to time, For example, if you’ve spent two or three days doing math problems out of a book, introduce some manipulatives or online exercises. In a writing class, alternate between typing and handwritten work, or assign prompts versus letting your child free write. Keep things from becoming too formulaic.
Exercise: Lethargy can be a real attention killer. If you’ve ever had to sit through a boring Power Point presentation at the office, you know how true this is. If your child has been inert for too long, attention suffers, as the body reduces energy expenditures during periods of inertness. Combat this by introducing some physical activity into the day. Get your kids out running around, or throw in a structured exercise routine. This will cause your children’s brains to free up more energy that will sharpen attention.
Concentration Activities: Attention span can be extended through deliberate training with activities that require concentration. This can be through games such as puzzles and board games. Or through every day chores that require focus, such as cooking, cleaning, or organizing a room. The point is to give your child activities outside of school that require concentration. Build habits of concentration. If school is the only time they are required to concentrate, you will always be fighting against their inclinations to distraction.
Well Fed and Well Rested: Food and sleep are indispensable to attentiveness. Make sure your kids are well-fed and well-rested. This needs to go beyond, “Did you have breakfast?” Make sure your child is getting enough daily calories recommended for their sex and age, as many young people (in my experience) habitually under eat. At the same time, be mindful of sugar intake, as excessive sugar consumption can lead to energy crashes and difficulty maintaining focus throughout the day.
Praise Their Work: Praise can go a long way towards energizing a young person and refocusing their energy. Make sure you recognize your child’s work and praise them accordingly. Direct your praise towards their efforts and work ethic, not towards the outcome. Make them feel proud and invested in the process of education so they will be more dedicated to that process (see, “Homeschooling Teens: Excellence, Not Perfection“).
Limit Access to Tech: Today’s technology is built for distraction. With an entire online ecosystem dedicated to stealing our attention, limiting children’s online access is a must if you want to build stronger attention spans. How you choose to regulate online access is up to you, but make sure your children’s digital existence is the exception, not the norm.
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Help: While attention span issues can often be fixed with the right routine, sometimes there are bigger issues at play. If your child seems consistently unable to control his or her impulses, struggles to focus on anything longer than a few minutes, needs constant guidance for routine activities, and does not seem to be responding to attempts at improvement, you may need to seek help from a mental health professional.
While there are many factors in our culture coalescing to erode children’s attention spans, this need not be the whole story. If an attention span can be diminished, it can also be restored. We as parents have a profound ability to shape the attention spans of our children through building habits of concentration. In the example of my economics lecture, I was consistently able to engage my students for sustained periods using a few simple strategies. With the right strategies in place, you, too, can grow your child’s attention span considerably.
If you’d like to continue the discussion and share your thoughts on attention spans and other homeschool challenges, I invite you to join me and other parents at our Homeschool Connections Community or our Facebook group.
