Absent-minded child: what to do? An inattentive child: what parents should do Uncollected child

Lack of concentration is a common problem among schoolchildren, which is especially aggravated in the winter and spring seasons. There are a great many factors responsible for inattention; we will look at the most popular ones and solutions.

A child needs attentiveness in all areas of life and not only in learning; its absence can become an obstacle to learning notes or learning new information. In addition, violations often lead to accidents on the road, at home or in a school institution, so you should look for the cause and solutions as soon as possible, or even better, start with its prevention. However, when attentiveness already interferes with the perception of the world around us, in this case, not preventive measures are needed, but a whole set of actions.

Inattentive schoolboy - understanding the concept

First, let's listen to medicine, from the point of view of specialists, attention deficit is a violation of the ability to concentrate on a specific thing or any action, which changes depending on the time of day, interest, mental stress, nutrition, and also the use of certain medications. The main indicators of inattention in a schoolchild are:

inability to concentrate - the child is inattentive in class, easily distracted when doing homework by external stimuli - knocking on the window, voices of neighbors, pet
absent-mindedness - gloves, pencils are often lost, or the socks worn are of different shades
inattentive performance of everyday tasks - holes are missed when lacing; when completing math assignments, not all numbers are written down.

Of course, 99% of people on the planet are not capable of prolonged concentration, but if attention deficits occur regularly, it’s time to look for the cause.

Why a child is inattentive - reasons

There are many reasons leading to the inability to concentrate on a specific goal, among them there are internal and external factors. Internal, this is what is associated with psychological stress, for example, unpleasant situations or personal fears, thoughts about which do not leave the mind. They are also expressed by a lack of time to rest between lessons or additional education (clubs).

The level of complexity of the task being performed also plays an important role here; if it is difficult, the child feels tense and doubts arise that disrupt attention. The same effect occurs when the action being performed is too easy, the student simply loses interest. In addition, it is recommended to pay attention to the body’s signals - insufficient sleep and poor nutrition can seriously affect performance.

External factors include a learning environment that causes discomfort - noise, heat or cold, poor room lighting, disorder. Another sub-item is modern media coming from a TV, smartphone, computer, tablet. It is recommended to turn off all of the above during training, as even an SMS signal can distract you for at least ten minutes.

What to do if your child is distracted and inattentive

The above reasons show that in order to improve a student’s concentration, it is necessary to monitor the number of hours of sleep, the order and lighting in the room, turn off all modern sources of information during home lessons, take breaks every 20 - 40 minutes, and at least an hour should pass between study groups. Nutrition should include all vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates.

Take into account the biorhythm of an inattentive student, observe at what time he is most attentive, and lessons are completed faster. Use these hours to your advantage and continue to stick to the schedule created and posted near your child's desk. Walk more in the fresh air; physical activity has a beneficial effect on mental work.

The methods above usually help restore alertness within a week; if this does not happen, consult your pediatrician. It is possible that you will need to consult a neurologist, since inattention sometimes acts as a signal of a hidden disorder.

Natalia Glinskaya
“An inattentive child, what should parents do?”

« Inattentive child, What do parents?»

People often complain to you that the child is inattentive, spins around in class, can’t sit still, doesn’t listen to the assignment?

A child is attentive when he does not just look, but sees or examines, when he does not just hear, but listens or listens.

Attention is characterized by properties that can be grouped depending on the focus attention:

1. Stability - determined by the duration of concentration of attention on an object

2. Selectivity - related to the ability to successfully tune (if there is interference) on the perception of information related to a conscious goal.

3. Distribution - characterized by the ability to simultaneously successfully perform several different types of activities (actions).

4. Concentration - expressed in the degree of concentration on an object.

5. Volume - determined by number at the same time (V within 0,1 sec) clearly perceived objects; practically no different from the volume of direct memorization, or short-term memory.

6. Switchability - determined by the ability to quickly move from one object to another.

7. Arbitrariness - determined by the ability to focus attention on demand.

One type of attention disorder is absent-mindedness - a decrease in the ability to concentrate and switch attention.

Such deficiencies can be eliminated “educational games and attention exercises”.

Giving a task to kid, remember. That your instructions should be specific, step-by-step, understandable.

Educational games and exercises.

A game "Clap Your Hands".

Target: develop stability and switching of attention, cognitive activity of the child; expand your horizons.

Description: tell the child different words; if he hears a word denoting, for example, an animal, then he must clap his hands. Another time, suggest that the child stand up every time he hears a word for a plant. Then combine the first and second task, that is, the child claps his hands when he hears words denoting animals, and stands up when pronouncing words denoting plants. It's good to play these games with several children.

A game "What changed?"

Target: development of concentration, distribution of attention, volume, visual memory.

Description: Place small items on the table. Within 30 seconds (approximately). Child looks and remembers the location of objects. Offer close the child's eyes, turn away. At this time, rearrange 2-3 items. Ask child, what changed in the arrangement of objects, which ones were rearranged?

A game "Who lives where".

Target: development of visual attention, memory.

Description: drawings with images of families of different animals and their houses, with drawn lines connecting the animals with their houses, which are given in a chaotic order. Offer determine for the child where is whose house is, without drawing a pencil along the lines.

A game “Follow the example”.

Target: development of concentration.

Description: The exercise includes the task of drawing repeating patterns.

The child continues the sample pattern on the sheet (circle, square, triangle, dot, etc.)

A game "Find differences".

Target: developing the ability to concentrate on details.

Description: offer to look at pictures depicting identical objects (with slight differences; over time, the number of differences can be increased). You need to find the differences and name them.

A game "Lay out the pattern".

Target: development of attention, memory.

Description: offer to remember and lay out the pattern shown earlier. From geometric shapes, beads, small objects, pebbles, cones.

A game "Collect the beads".

Target: development of the ability to concentrate attention on details, teach to see the drawing algorithm.

Description: offer to assemble the beads according to the sample, continue according to the verbal instructions.

A game “What object is missing?”.

Target: development of the ability to concentrate. Remember the spatial arrangement of objects, highlighting their distinctive features.

Description: the game starts with 3-4 toys and objects. Offer to name the toy that the adult removed. Then you can add the number of items, complicate: use the technique of changing the place of the toy.

Publications on the topic:

HEALTH PATH for parents and children. Massage. Dear parents! Teach your child how to massage. This will increase the body's protective properties.

"To the parents of my first children." Poem dedicated to the parents of the first graduates I have already written that full-fledged work as a teacher is impossible without interaction with the families of pupils. I am very lucky - my parents.

On November 28, we held the “Hurry to Do Good” event, in which children and parents of all groups took part. We visited the Krasnodar Regional.

Consultation for parents. What to do if a child cannot tear himself away from the TV? Before it is too late, the problem must be solved. If you ask such a question, it means you yourself understand perfectly well what to watch TV.

Consultation for parents of children of middle and older age groups “The child does not want to draw. What to do?" Consultation with teacher G. V. Pestova for parents of children of the middle and older age groups “The child does not want to draw. What to do?".

“Our child started school this year, and teachers are constantly complaining that he is inattentive and often distracted in class. What should we do?” - young mother Marina Nemolyaeva wrote to the editor. There are many letters in our mail on this topic. This means that the time has come to find an answer to a question that worries many.

THE PROBLEM of children's inattention is most often faced by parents whose children have just started school. And this is quite understandable, since studying requires a lot of concentration from the child. If a child really has problems with the development of attention, demands to “be more attentive” alone will not do. First, parents need to understand the possible causes of absent-mindedness.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Children with a similar diagnosis are characterized by excessive motor activity, impulsiveness, poor concentration, and high distractibility. Difficulties with maintaining attention, as a rule, are clearly revealed long before entering school. The school situation only aggravates the problems. Extreme patience is required from parents of such children. They must carry out their educational practice in close contact with doctors, teachers and psychologists, since children with attention deficit disorder need special comprehensive help.

Chronic diseases, general illness of the child

Children with poor health are characterized by high fatigue and low performance. The reduced function of their attention may be due to a general weakening of the body. Such children require obligatory adherence to the regime, dosing of loads, rest (daytime sleep is desirable). Subject to these conditions, which reduce the influence of physical and physiological limitations, such children will become more diligent and attentive.

Individual characteristics of the nervous system

Students with a strong and active nervous system are more likely to have stable, well-switched attention. Students with a weak nervous system, on the contrary, are characterized by unstable, poorly switched attention. Knowing the main features of the child’s nervous system, parents can help him develop qualities and attention skills that can be trained: skills of maintaining attention and switching it. To understand this, you need to contact a psychologist or neurologist.

Fatigue and overload

Typically, a schoolchild’s working day is not limited to academic classes, but includes visits to various clubs, sections, studios, etc. Often, a student’s schedule is so tightly scheduled from morning to evening that he barely has time to prepare his homework. This leaves virtually no time for proper rest; children do not get enough sleep. Physical, psychological, and information overload inevitably lead to decreased performance, increased inattention and absent-mindedness. You need to learn to leave time for rest and games. You may have to remove some extracurricular activities from your schedule.

Age restrictions in the development of attention

The attention of children of primary school age may not be perfect enough due to age characteristics. You probably won’t find a single primary school student in whose notebooks you don’t occasionally encounter so-called “careless” errors. You should understand that this is normal. Throughout primary school, attention will gradually be trained, developed, and its volume will increase. By the age of 9-10, children become able to concentrate quite well on what they are doing.

The child is not interested

As a rule, we talk about children’s inattention when they are required to do something that is “not significant enough” for them. Often this is just study. And they can play, watch TV, and work on the computer endlessly. Arousing a child's interest in school activities is not an easy task for parents. Patience and sincere interest in the baby’s life and activities are required. He needs to be involved in the “necessary” activities unobtrusively, without a belt or spanking. As the authors of a book useful for parents about the attention of schoolchildren, O. Yu. Ermolaev, T. M. Maryutina and T. A. Meshkova rightly note: “Few adults think about the fact that, when inviting a child to look for mushrooms, they should collect pebbles on the river bank , choose the necessary parts of a mosaic or construction set, they thereby contribute to the training of attention.”

This is a long process. But necessary for full mental development.

Development of concentration

The main type of exercises are proofreading tasks, in which the child is asked to find and cross out certain letters in a printed text. Such exercises allow the child to feel what it means to “be attentive” and develop concentration. This work should be carried out daily (5 minutes a day) for 2-4 months. It is very good and useful to use exercises to reproduce sequences of letters, numbers, geometric patterns, movements, etc.

Increased attention span

The exercises are based on memorizing the number and order of a number of objects presented for looking at for a few seconds. As you master the exercise, the number of objects gradually increases.

Attention distribution training

The basic principle of the exercises: the child is asked to simultaneously perform two multidirectional tasks (for example, reading a story and counting the strokes of a pencil on the table, completing a task and listening to a record of a fairy tale, etc.).

Attention switching skills

A variety of games and exercises for developing attention are widely represented in the psychological and pedagogical literature. The main condition that parents must comply with is that activities with the child must be systematic. Tasks for the development of attention can be offered to children in the form of games, competitions and carried out not only at the time allotted for this, but also casually, for example, on the way to the store, on a walk, while preparing dinner, etc.

Parents often worry that their child is too distracted. Such children are often distracted, cannot concentrate on any task, and forget what they just said. This causes inconvenience, since parents have to control all the child’s actions. For what reasons can children be absent-minded? How to deal with this problem?

What influences a child's attention?

Perception. When a child is distracted, he cannot fix his gaze on something specific. His gaze quickly moves from object to object. Subsequently, this leads to the fact that the child does not have a complete and holistic understanding of the world around him.
Memory. Children subconsciously remember most of the information they hear and see. The excess then disappears from memory. Absent-minded children need to be taught what to remember and what not to remember. Even after this, they may find it difficult to remember certain things.
Thinking and speech. As a result of constant inattention, the structure of speech is not formed. Children can often confuse concepts that are similar in meaning. As a result, the child cannot determine the connections between events and phenomena, as well as the similarities and differences between them.

Signs of absent-mindedness

For a future student, attentiveness is extremely important. How can you tell if your baby is distracted?

He cannot do the same thing for a long time.
He is distracted by any external stimuli: music, movements and even quiet sounds.
You see that the baby is trying, but he still often makes mistakes.
It is difficult for him to identify and correct the mistakes he has made.
It is difficult for a child to retell even a short story.
Since he often fails, he loses interest in any activities that are then assessed. These children prefer games and communication with peers.

It is necessary to combat the child's inattention. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for him to learn the material at school. To get rid of this problem, first of all, it is necessary to determine why the child is so distracted and inattentive. Experts have identified several factors that provoke absent-mindedness in children at an early age.

The character of the child is important. If your child is choleric, then he will constantly strive to do a large number of things at the same time. Because of this, he will often be distracted. If the baby is melancholic, then it will be difficult for him to switch attention. Such children can more easily focus on a specific task.
A child may be inattentive due to the fact that his body is weakened by a disease. He may have low blood pressure or low hemoglobin levels. For various reasons, children may suffer from frequent headaches. Even a simple cold can be the cause.
Sometimes a child does not always show absent-mindedness, but only when engaged in a specific activity. For example, he has difficulty in mathematics or learning foreign languages. Perhaps the child simply does not show interest in this or you need to wait until he is a little older.

How to deal with absent-mindedness

Absent-mindedness is not a death sentence for your baby. Parents must help defeat her. If you cannot cope on your own, consult a psychologist. You can help your child become more focused with the following tips.

From an early age, try to teach your child to focus on various objects. Buy him dynamic toys, point to different objects and explain their properties so that the child will keep his attention on them.
Mosaics, puzzles, and various construction sets will help develop attentiveness. Explain to your child how to handle such toys. If he is fascinated by this, while playing, your baby will develop not only his attentiveness, but also his logic, as well as fine motor skills. In any case, such games will bring a lot of benefits for the development of the baby.
Play the game “Spot the Differences” with your child. You can also place several objects in front of him so that he remembers them, and then remove one of them. Let the child guess what exactly you hid. This develops both memory and attentiveness.
Go for a walk with your child more often so that he has the opportunity to observe nature and its phenomena. This will broaden his horizons and develop his powers of observation. After all, children at this age are interested in everything. Don't limit his horizons to cartoons. And video games.
After watching a cartoon or reading a book, discuss with your child the behavior of the characters, the plot and other details.
When your child goes to school, provide him with a comfortable workplace where nothing will distract him from his studies. When he does his homework, the TV and computer should be turned off.
A first-grader's daily routine should be clear. Do not overload him with various activities and clubs. Provide your child with adequate nutrition and quality sleep.

With some effort, you can help your child become more attentive.

If children soaring in the world of their fantasies cause tenderness, then as the child grows up, this trait begins to be alarming. Already by the age of 5–6 years, a preschooler should be able to concentrate on a task, keep several objects in the zone of attention at once, and not be distracted from the essence of the issue for at least 15–20 minutes. But what should parents of an inattentive child do: how to understand what the problem is and find a way to solve it?

Let's figure it out together, friends!

5 reasons for inattention

Reason 1: ADHD

Distracted attention and high distractibility are characteristic signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. On our website you can learn more and read how to organize it correctly.

It is important to understand that such children require coordinated work of parents, doctors, teachers and psychologists. But your efforts will be rewarded: with a competent approach, the child’s condition can be corrected.

Reason 2. Poor health

In pediatrics, there is such a thing as children who are often ill, and if your baby is part of this group, be prepared that special attention will have to be paid to the development of attentiveness in preschool age.

To increase the perseverance of a child with poor health and increased fatigue, you will have to carefully monitor the toddler’s daily routine, carefully distribute loads, and create conditions favorable for proper rest and recovery.

Reason 3. Features of the nervous system

Easily excitable, anxious children, subject to various fears, find it more difficult to concentrate on the object of study than balanced and calm children.

In this case, it is difficult for parents without special knowledge to help the child independently. But with the help of a psychologist, a competent preschool teacher and an experienced primary school teacher, you can choose methods for developing attentiveness with a weak nervous system.

Reason 4. High loads

If you take your child to dance early in the morning, then take him to the pool, followed by several more sections and tutors, is it any wonder that by the evening he is unable to listen to you carefully for even 5 minutes?

The child's psyche is a matter that requires careful handling. Powerful flows of information, psychological and physical stress will invariably lead to a decrease in attention - this is the body’s natural protective reaction when working on the verge of stress.

Reason 5. Lack of motivation

The most common reason why children demonstrate restlessness and absent-mindedness is a lack of interest in the object of consideration. A child cannot understand deferred goals in preschool age. If a child is not interested in the here and now, he simply will not physically be able to show the degree of involvement in the activity that demanding parents expect from him.

The younger the child, the more important it is to make educational activities interesting. But still, do not forget to accustom your child to the idea that studying is an important and responsible matter. Teach him to study: thoughtfully, collectedly, attentively.

Take a break from your daily business more often to enjoy the beauty of the world around you. Listen to the wind whispering through the leaves. Observe how graceful the stray cats are in their measured movements.

At home, while walking, on public transport, look at everything that comes into your field of vision, listen to everything that your ears catch. And, of course, discuss what you saw and heard with your child. The habit of noticing details is an effective trainer for developing attention.

Mindfulness is the ability to direct consciousness to the desired object. But what is the use of such an ability if a weak memory does not retain this object within itself.

The more developed your memory is, the easier it is to be attentive. Therefore, friends, train your children's memory: learn poems and songs, learn the alphabet, car brands, names of capitals on the world map...

Are you worried that your baby gets distracted every now and then during class? Think about it: perhaps the surrounding space is interfering with focused work.

It is easier to study when there is no extraneous noise in the room, when no foreign objects catch your eye, when hunger or fatigue do not take over the already weak children’s attention. The work environment is the key to success in the fight against absent-mindedness.

If you try to control every child’s step, and try to fill every minute of the child with useful activities, then it is difficult for the child to figure out on his own what deserves his attention.

“Less parental control, more independence” is a simple but effective formula for preventing children's absent-mindedness, restlessness, and inattention.

Various games help develop various skills (concentration, stability, volume, switching and distribution) in preschool age.

Board games, lotto, children's dominoes, and Memo cards are good for this. You can play word games and paper games. The main thing is that by training attention in the game, the child is sincerely involved in the process, and therefore receives maximum pleasure and benefit from what is happening.

Let's sum it up

If a child is inattentive, look for the reason for his absent-mindedness and restlessness.
Consider the individual characteristics of your baby. Try to avoid comparisons with other children, and if you are worried that your heir is lagging behind his peers in development, consult with specialists.
To develop attentiveness, use all possible methods: offer interesting games, observe the world around you, train your memory and motivate your child to work independently.

Friends, we wish you happy parenting! See you again!