Child and Concentration

I am sure many of us want to know how to get our child to concentrate. We often hear parents complain ”my child does not keep his attention at a stretch on what he is supposed to be learning from books”.

WHAT CAN WE DO?
1. First we should have his vision and hearing checked by specialist and corrected. If corrections cannot be made, we need to take these problems into account

2. Find out through close cooperation with the school, if the child has any learning troubles and if so how to help him with this.

3. Find out if the child is a slow learner. If so, in which area and give him special attention in the same. The child may be more comfortable with home tutoring than being at school. Once he gets familiar and confident in his subjects, he will develop interest in them. Interest leads to success. He will try hardest when he succeeds most. Help him enjoy more successes and celebrate these successes with him

4. At home, as parents we can cultivate some good habits of concentration, which should carry over to school by paying strict attention when the child talks to us. We should also be careful as parents, to have the child’s undivided attention before uttering a request or a command. It is sometimes good to have him repeat the request or command immediately. Also train the child at home to do his regular chores promptly.

5. When your child is a baby provide him a serene atmosphere at home and establish routines with affection. Provide with proper playthings. Do not give too many playthings at a time, as he may start flitting from one toy to another. Encourage and direct your child in creative play, construction blocks and other things that he can make with his hands.

6. Avoid diverting him from a play or activity he is absorbed in. Encourage concentration and appreciate his achievements, even if he plays with the same toy continuously for hours or even days. Encourage your child to finish this undertaking. Try to keep him from beginning many such jobs which you are sure he won’t finish

7. Read to the young child daily from the time he starts looking at a book. It may be a story or a song that takes less that a minute. Allow them to play freely with the peer groups

PreMath

Building Children's Math Skills
When children go to school, they get "formal" lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic. But arithmetic, the adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing of numbers, is just one part of the greater use of math. Math is all about how numbers work.

Math helps children develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Just as the brain is "pre-wired" to learn and use language, it is also a part of human nature to learn and use math concepts.

Children are adventurous. As they begin crawling and walking to explore, they handle objects, and notice the size of their toys. They start to form ideas about their environment, naturally. With these activities, children learn the basics of math.

They learn how to:
Group and sort ; Recognize numbers; Recognize shapes; Recognize patterns; Estimate/predict; Tell time; Addition and Subtraction concepts; Explore spaceAll of above are important "pre-math" skills. They are the basis for learning math in elementary school and beyond.

You use math throughout your day, so just share it and make it fun for children. More than likely you are already helping your child to learn pre-math concepts by the words you use and the activities you do with him. Child care providers and other such programs also use activities that foster math skills in children's daily routines.