Poor concentration in yr 1 ds, any ideas?

[ciyoa]

hi, has anyone got any ideas/methods to help concentration and focus? My 6 yr old ds has always found it a struggle to stay focused without constant reminding etc, and he is now struggling to complete pieces of work in yr 1 in the timeframes given. At this stage it is poor concentration but if continues may have to look at it being redefined, either way what strategies have helped your children stay focused on a task?
any suggestions welcome pls!

My ds had this problem in year 1 [easily distracted]. He seems to simply have grown out of it a bit in year 2 OR maybe because year 2 teacher put him on a table of quiet children who will just get on with their work- good influence on him! May be combination of both.

Will be very interested in this post and replies because we have the exact same problem with my daughter whos also in yr 1, she has always been the same, she also fails to finish work and her teachers have so much trouble keeping their attention, shes very behind. We have trouble getting her to complete tasks at home such as her reading and simple things like eating her breakfast take 30-40 minutes because she just cant keep concentration on what shes supposed to be doing

Another bookmarker! At least you know you are not alone. My Y1 ds is similar. He has to stay in at break quite often, which is a bit counter productive. I have asked teacher to separate him from another child as they seem to wind each other up a bit. He can stay very focussed when he wants to (spends hours making books or playing lego) and has always been good playing on his own (unlike ds2), but struggles to learn quickly and to keep his attention on things. He's very imaginative and I think he's a bit of a dreamer, but also quite excitable and distractable. The smallest noise/ smell gets his attention. He is very wriggly on the carpet.

I have been advised previously on MN to cut screen time.

With getting dressed, I usually 'race' him so we get dressed at the same time. With putting shoes on, I have 3 kids and they get gold, silver and bronze for the order they can put their shoes on. Can you do something like that with breakfast? Or she could race an egg timer? My ds isn't particularly competitive but it still appeals to him, just makes it more fun I think.

I'm not sure with work at school though, I will be interested to read responses.

ciyoa, has his teacher mentioned it being 'redefined' or you? And what do you think it may be? Very interested...

DS1 has sensory processing issues, combined with some fine and gross motor skills delay which was initially put down to a lack of concentration (actually I think Y1 teacher had just labelled him as naughty:(). However he was quite prem so I was on the look out for problems and asked for a referral to an OT - she's mainly worked on his motor skills but also some tactics for improving concentration - posters with routines on, giving him time limits to complete things and he is much much better in Y2. It is estimated that 1 in 10 children have some sort of sensory issues and often they're not recognised so it might be worth checking out a symptoms list and seeing if your DS/DDs might be leaning that way? More info here if you're interested...

Other thing that has worked really well with DS is telling him at the start of the day what is going to happen that day - seems to stop him feeling so disorientated if we do something out of the norm. He still much prefers days to either be 'school' or 'home' though...

Schools use lots of strategies to help keep children on task and in Year 1 they are not expected to sit still for more than about 10 minutes at a time. If your ds finds this a struggle it might be worth considering a referral from the GP for assessment for add/adhd.

Is he able to sit and listen to a story at home. Or watch television for 10 minutes straight?

Meditation ca help aid concentration, computer games TV and too much sugar are detrimental

I had the same problem with my 6yr old son. And last year after advice from a friend started him on kumon and he has improved a lot. Not sure if it works for everyone though.

hi ciyoa. I've experienced this and with my child in Y1. It was suggested that we start a task together, I help get it towards completion and then get DS to finish the task. To encourange the sense of acheivement at finishing a task.

Anything will do, jigsaw, building some lego or playdoh, making cake mixture, cleaning something in the house. I followed it with a sticker or sometimes made a certificate on Word if it was something like tidying his room or helping with the hoovering.

Now my DS is in Y2 and will focus for a relatively long time, he pores over a particular Usborne 1001 Things to Spot book, will sit and read a whole Biff & Chip book to me or finish a worksheet on his own. He's not perfect and still can be distractable but I think the idea of 'finishing' the job was the best idea.

sorry for delay, been away few days, but thanks so much for the replies! mad mum and marigold you could be literally describing ds! the carpet fidgeting, he can't sit in one position (i.e. on his bum!) throughout a meal....sitting-kneeling-crouching-sitting etc all in space of 15-20 mins!! drives me insane at times, esp as dd sits perfectly! (and draws attention to it, 'look at ME mummy' grrr!)rocky like that idea, will try iy i think. He can focus long enought to build a lego vehicle etc but with other things jumps down, particularly if it gets slightly challenging in any way.
have just started a(nother) sticker chart, he always likes to get certificates etc.Also i found an excellent document on google titled 'developing concentration skills in primary age children' by an eductional psch, really good logical ideas that i will try to implement at home, building up concentration etc.
will also check out sensory symptoms. He isnt that keen on tv, prefers colouring, lego playing etc, fab imagination, mind always active, even talks in his sleep!
'redefining' - i just meant possibly as adhd etc, not keen for labels but want to help him best way possible. looking at nhs hyperactive profile symptoms, he has lots of them but i reckon fair few 6yr olds do too! tricky one.
pick up time now, please let it have been a good day!

p.s. sorry would put a link to the document but have no idea how to!

Thanks so much for posting this OP, I am finding it very useful.

My DD (age 6) is a dreamer and fidgeter too, always wriggling. She finds it VERY hard to go to sleep, no matter how much energy she has expended during the day. Do any of you have the same problem with your children?

She is better now at concentrating on reading, which is fab, and concentrates on lego and stuff, but she is easily distracted from most other things

She loves maths but now she is ready to do slightly harder things she is put off by having to use patience to learn it - she likes everything to happen immediately.

I love the idea of practising getting a sense of achievement, that's really interesting rocky. Coincidentally we made and iced biscuits at the weekend and she seemed SO proud of herself when she did all the icing herself. I will try to do some more things like that with her.

Might be a long shot but have you considered possible dietary causes? I have stopped my reception dd having squash with her school dinner because the colours/sweeteners really affect her concentration and make her hyperactive. The dinner ladies have been fantastic and given her water instead. Today she came home saying one of the TAs had insisted on her trying squash to see if she liked it... (Of course she likes it, that wasn't the point - TA seems to think I am a nasty mummy to stop my dd enjoying herself). Her reading record states she thad trouble remembering her key words and was distracted. Well, I wonder why!

I though schools couldn't give children squash they certainly can't in my area although milk and citrus fruit have been identified as the main culprits for my son's attention deficit ... healthy eating

mrz I wish... Had a chat to some other mothers this morning and it seems that at this school the TAs make the children drink squash or go thirsty!

My DS is the same, he dreams, doesn't get things done and is very silly (rolling around the carpet).

Last year in Y1 I had a some info to increase his concentration from his teacher, but my DS wasn't into most of those things, e.g. puzzles, games, memory games. It also mentioned reading to them. I thought not too much TV, but mine hardly watches it anyway. However, he plays lego and follows instructions really well.

Now in Y2 the teacher said similar things, and I noticed in the summer that he was behind in maths - I did some one to one with him and we read every day.

A couple of weeks ago his teacher told me that DS (now almost 7) is amongst the best in his maths class, his reading is very good and she thinks he has matured a bit lately.

So, maybe its often an age thing and you have to wait and support them as well as you can in the meantime.