Advice on concentration, please.

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

Hi. I am posting on behalf of a friend who has a five-year-old girl at school in another European country and asked me for advice. I really had no ideas, so though I would open it up to the collective wisdom on MN.

"Today was X's medical check up at school, the doctor spent about 45min with her only to conclude that all is normal but it is pity that X lacks Concentation!, she does not think before answering a question.
Is there anything we can do to help X to pay attention a little longer and to learn to think?"

I am in my forties now most of the time I still don?t think or not much before I answering questions. I can do with some advice as well!

I was waiting for the Expert Opinion but, in their absence, I'll wade in instead.
Try googling 'games to aid concentration' and you'll get several suggestions.

She's not in France is she by any chance?

It just sounds like a very French thing to say about a child.

Most 5yos can't concentrate for 45 mins. Perhaps the doctor was boring

I would ignore it if there are no other concerns.

Yes, in France!

Sorry, extrapolating my experience of France there

Pahhaaaahhaaa, x-post

C'est bolleaux.

A very worried mother, though. Not French, so not brilliant at the language, although quite competent. I must admit, I thought, she's 5, of course she can't concentrate! But presumably she is less able to concentrate than the other 5-year olds in the class.

Well, either she is a perfectly normal 5yo and the doctor is an arse, or she has serious attention deficit problems and the doctor should be signposting resources and specialists; since he isn't, he's an arse.

So, to conclude, Le Doctor est un derrière

Oui. She strikes me as fairly norma; with a HUUUGE determined personality. For example, in the last two years, no one has been able to persuade her into girls' clothes. Don't know much about French schools; would that be seen as interestingly eccentric or a problem?

normal

Thank you, SnowLeopard. Well worth a try!