How to improve children concentration?

[chewwl88]

i have a 5 year old son who have an poor concentration while writing words and during the teacher's lesson

He can spent one hour and half sit finish writing for ten sentence which normal children just spent 15 min.

He has many day dreaming and lack of concentration during his work. How to improve the concentration. anyone has good advise for him? Any TMC is good for concentration? or any methods?

Please advise

With many thanks

[batgirl_cdn]

Sorry, can't help much with that. I think it is only normal for a 5 year old to have a short attention span. As a 5 year old child I don't think I could write 10 sentences in 15 minutes. I most certainly never sat for 1.5 hrs working on any school work - no way I could concentrate for that long! In the end I don't think it matters as I grew up to get mostly A's, obtain an undergrad and masters degree from university, and have a successful work history.

[chewwl88]

Thks for your comments

But he just writing very slow on his school work. Most of time day dreaming while doing his writing, cannot able to concentrate

How to help improve his concentration?

[durain]

ok, here's a couple of things you need to check if your son is doing the following...

* how many hours does he sleep at night?
* does he play video games? watch too much TV?
* is he fit and active?
* is he eating a well balance diet with enough fruits and vegs?
* has he got ADHD, ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia?

as to increasing his concentration, there are research that fish oil high in omega 3 (EPA) will help. this is a long term intake of omega 3 and at a correct amount, at least 200mg for a 5 years old. thus, taking omega 3 is not going to make your son smarter and get grade A+, you still need to work with him to concentrate on his studies. i suggest you do further research/reading on this. here's one to start you off...

http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_informatio ... brain.html



DISCLAIMER: the information and advice contained in my post are intended as a general guide to healthy eating and are not specific to individuals or their particular circumstances. all content within this post is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. omega 3 is not a wonder food. you still need a healthy well balanced diet.

[smayrhofer]

At that age, it's difficult to judge if your child is just an energetic 5 year old who doesn't like to do schoolwork, or whether he may have a serious problem.

As his lack of concentration is affecting his schoolwork, you should consider having him evaluated by a specialist for possible problems like ADD. This would put your mind at ease, and I'm sure he'd be a happier boy too if he didn't have to spend 1.5 hours trying to complete a homework assignment.

Good luck.

[QRM]

All my reports from school came back as I had the attention span of a knat and spent most of my time day dreaming, it shows a creative spirit, don't suppress it nurture it.

Maybe he is bored by it all instead of writing why not let him do other things like painting, music, dancing, sports? Heres a thought why not ask him what he wants to do?

Churchill was the same, what did his teacher say about him?

You are already distinguishing him from "normal" children, kids can pick up these negative feelings.

[chewwl88]

His teacher say he cannot concentrate during the lesson. He just look outside while lesson.

No force him to do writing it because he cannot finish his school during class. So his teacher has to ask to bring back home to do. He now in K2 classes till 11.15am and special school in afternoon till 3.30pm

Actual he has mild Autism (ASD) and mild speech delay. He has spend many time watching TV after school in afternoon. He go to sleep at 12pm and wake up 8am to school. It very hard to put him to sleep early as he will play his toys very late.

Please advise more. With thanks

[QRM]

His teacher say he cannot concentrate during the lesson. He just look outside while lesson.

Then you got the wrong teachers, if they cant work with him, then find some one else.

Reminds me of the time I managed to get 3% in an exam ( I think Biology) because the teacher was so dull, but Geography I got 80-90% not because I particularly liked geography but the teacher was fun and looked forward to the lessons.

[durain]

chewwl88, looks like you got a little bit of work to do on your son. as smayrhofer said, your son might need to be evaluated by a specialist. it is hard on a forum to full evaluate your son.

it is essential for your son to get enough sleep. 12 to 8am is not enough for a 5 years old. he got to sleep earlier, latest by 9pm. you got to limit his time on the TV. get him to watch educational/nature/science programs on TV, not just cartoons or films.

equally, it is essential that he is eating a healthy diet. is he getting a good healthy diet or it is all junk food? and fizzy drinks? any fruits and vegs?

and lastly, is he active? fit? lazy? does he do any sports?

[Matney]

As a teacher of this age, I'm shocked that you don't have him in bed sooner than midnight. Yes, he's getting 8 hours of sleep, but that may not be enough. I would say the teacher is also not doing her job, if she isn't helping him get at least 5 sentences done. She is the one letting him stare out the window. Cut out so much TV and get him outside playing with friends after school. My children when they were that age weren't allowed TV or computer during the week.

[woozel]

Have you thought about giving him an omega oil supplement? Saying that be careful on which one you give him as they are not all equal, and there are so many out there now. Many of the fish oil ones contain trans fat which are not good. There is one called Udo's which doesn't contain trans fat.

This helped my son tremendously with his speech delay, and it also has been shown to help concentration, and help kids with autism.

Saying that the previous posters are totally correct, 8 hours sleep a night for a child that age is simply not enough, especially if he cannot concentrate. You are the parent, and you tell him what to do. If he is overtired then he will find it hard to sleep so you need to get him in bed before he hits that stage.

We drew up a chart with pictures for bedtime routine which the children love - pictures of gorilla's brushing their teeth, pile of books, beds etc. so the children know what is expected of them and this helps them know what is coming next so they don't fight it.

Good luck with the journey.

[durain]

omega 3 fish oil should not contain any trans fats. trans fats come from vegetable oils that were chemically modified so they are solid like lard. i might be wrong as there are a lot of product out there but it makes no logic to put trans fats in a supplement.

for the concentration thing, it has to be omega 3 fish oil with high EPA. (omega 6 is no good). not all fish oil are the same, you just need to get the right one. you need enough dosage as well for it to work.

[chewwl88]

Thanks for advise.

There are many Omega 3 products in the market. Manage to get some

Efamol:
http://www.efamol.com/fset.asp?pid=1

Kidabion Omega-3 Fish Oil products
http://www.sevenseasusa.com/productsHaliborange03a.html

Are the brand is recommended?

Advise... Thanks

[durain]

Thanks for advise.

There are many Omega 3 products in the market. Manage to get some

Efamol:
http://www.efamol.com/fset.asp?pid=1

Kidabion Omega-3 Fish Oil products
http://www.sevenseasusa.com/productsHaliborange03a.html

Are the brand is recommended?

Advise... Thanks

ok, forget about the efamol as they havent got the right stuff for your son. get the seven seas.

you also need to give your son a structured pattern to follow everyday. write up a timetable on a wall so that he can see and need to follow like homework/study after school, outdoor activities, bedtime by 8pm, etc, etc.

[micknlea]

If your child has mild ASD then you must work his earlier bed time into a routine, as I am sure it has become routine for him to stay up late. He should be getting at least 10 hours, preferably 11-12 if possible.

It will be hard at first and the resistance is likely to be high, but if you stick with it then his new routine of an earlier bedtime will become standard. Been there, done that and it helps.

The oil may or may not help, it won't do him any harm anyway. The extra sleep will do him good though.