Kids actively learn about the world and constantly move, so at an early age it is difficult for them to sit in one place and concentrate their attention on a certain action for a long time. But by the age of 7, it is important for a child to learn how to finish the work he has begun and to pay attention to specific objects, processes or phenomena for some time. If the child is too active and inattentive, then at the stage of preparation for school, parents begin to worry about his future education. You should not panic, because there are exercises for the development of perseverance.
Basic Rules
Before you learn how to teach your baby to concentrate and what exercises to do to develop perseverance, it is important to determine his temperament and speed of reactions.
If a child is melancholic, he is able to stay in one place longer and perform monotonous actions.
If the baby has a choleric temperament, you need to develop attentiveness a little differently.
An equally important criterion is the age period in which classes begin. It is known that children become more assiduous and attentive as their nervous system matures. At 2-3 years of age, the baby can fully pay attention to one thing for a maximum of 15 minutes.
The duration of concentration of attention in 3-4 years already slightly increases and is up to 25 minutes, at 4-5 years old - up to 30 minutes, and at 5-6 years old - up to 40 minutes. It is important to consider this when evaluating your child and organizing his education. In addition, interests differ at different ages. If the chosen activity is not suitable for age, the baby will get bored and will certainly want to stop it.
Another important point - if you notice that it is difficult for a child to do one thing for a long time, he often quits the work he has started, is constantly distracted and switches to something else, it is worth showing the child to a psychologist or neurologist.
This behavior can be one of the hallmarks of ADHD, since a hyperactive child often has problems with attention and perseverance.
What cannot be done?
If you are trying to develop perseverance and teach your child not to quit work halfway through, try to avoid resentment and conflict. If the kid does not succeed in something, he will want to quit the lesson and switch to something else. Do not scold for such a desire, but help to return to the interrupted business, renewing interest in it.
Do not criticize, but rather show what solutions there are. Explain to your child that mistakes are absolutely normal, and every person makes them during training.
If you see that the child is already tired and it is difficult for him to return to class, postpone the work started for a certain period, but agree that later you will definitely finish everything.
How to train perseverance?
There are many tasks and activities that can instill perseverance in a child. These include the following.
- Coloring pictures. Many children enjoy drawing very much - this activity can captivate them for a long time. If the child does not have a passion for paints and pencils, you can choose an alternative among other creative options, for example, do modeling, create appliqués, jewelry and other DIY crafts. This will not only teach perseverance, but will also develop fine motor skills.
- Cooking food together. During this activity, the kid learns how familiar dishes are created, learns their components, tries his hand at cutting, mixing, sculpting dough, and so on. It's a good idea to make something that you usually buy, like jam, bread, or pasta. While the dish is being prepared, the child can also do the sorting of cereals.
- Reading fairy tales. Choose interesting stories for your baby that can captivate him for a long time. Read together, view the illustrations, and discuss what you read. This will have a positive effect on the development of thinking, fantasy, attention and memory.
- Collecting puzzles, constructors, mosaics. A child will spend a lot of time to create a beautiful picture or an original building. Having picked up and considered the necessary details, he will connect the elements, which will make him fix his attention on an interesting task for a long time, but the result will certainly please.
- Classes with paper aids. For example, to develop a child's concentration skills, offer the baby two pictures with differences. At first, finding inconsistencies will not be easy - you may need help from parents, but over time, the baby will become interested. The main thing here is to give a task that will correspond to age. Benefits designed for a younger student (from 7-8 to 10-11 years old) will be too difficult for children 5-6 years old and not interesting if the child is already a teenager.
- Counting stick games. They can be used not only for ordinal counting, but also for drawing up geometric shapes or various objects, comparing them with each other, and so on. Such games stimulate memory, fine motor skills and attention, and also perfectly develop logical thinking. The same positive effects can be obtained by inviting the child to play Tangram with Dienesh blocks and similar didactic material. All these activities, if they are interesting enough for the baby, can occupy his attention for a long time.
Psychological advice
Experts focus on the fact that the formation of the child's personality is largely influenced by personal example of parents, so if you want your child to organize his day correctly and get it done to the end, you must do that too. This tactic is valid for both a preschool child and a teenager.
Another important tip - to support their child, parents should be calm and patient. Psychologists note that children who are rushed, criticized and scolded, learn much worse.
If you really want to get good results and enjoy your little one’s success, please be patient and consistent.
In addition, by organizing activities for a restless child, try to create an environment in which the baby will not be distracted. Turn off your computer and TV, find a comfortable place where there will be no unnecessary items that can interest the baby. And certainly praise at the end of the work, because this will be additional motivation.
