Reading 7 min. Views 4.3k. Published on 06/25/2019

It is not uncommon for a child to have completely distracted attention: either he forgets to write down a homework assignment, or he doesn’t remember what time the lessons start tomorrow, or he didn’t take notebooks or textbooks.

How to help a child not sit for several hours on homework, more than one parent thinks. Making comments does not help, repeating the same thing over and over again - you just get tired. You need to find some method how to independently develop mindfulness in a child. All tips are in our article.

Why children are distracted and inattentive: 6 reasons

You can notice that the baby has scattered attention, even in kindergarten. He does not play any game for a long time, he is generally not interested in activities that require perseverance: drawing, modeling from plasticine, picking up puzzles or mosaics.

But parents pay attention that their child is restless and inattentive, only at school.

What do you do when student performance starts to suffer?

First of all, it is necessary to determine the origins of children's absent-mindedness:

1. Distracted attention syndrome usually goes hand in hand with hyperactivity. In the scientific community, there is a short abbreviation for this condition: ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Those children who are diagnosed with this are very mobile. It is actually difficult for them to overcome themselves and concentrate on some activity. They are constantly distracted for any reason. Once diagnosed, corrective action must be taken to prevent symptoms from worsening over time. The later treatment begins, the more difficult it is to apply.
2. Sometimes parents themselves provoke the development of inattention in their child, giving him toys. Due to the fact that every time the baby has a new hobby, he does not need to remember and get involved in something specific. Thus, memory training does not occur, and the baby becomes distracted. How to develop mindfulness in a child in this case? It's very simple: stop buying more and more toys for your darling, despite the boundless love for him.
3. If your baby has colds and viral diseases, you will not envy his general condition. Not only is all the energy spent on fighting diseases, but the lack of oxygen, movement and sunlight also affects. After all, a cold child will not go for a walk! Concentration of attention suffers from this, and the student becomes absent-minded, even if nothing at home distracts him from his studies.
4. Home environment definitely affects a child's ability to focus on learning. When parents, children, grandparents live in a small apartment, one can only dream of silence. The second case is when adults constantly quarrel. The child's psyche becomes unstable, he expects sudden loud sounds and is used to listening to the environment. That is, full concentration on work never happens.
5. Another factor that negatively affects the baby's ability to concentrate is excessive workload. Ambitious parents want their offspring to be the most successful, the most gifted, and so on. Based on their selfish motives, they shift the burden on the fragile children's shoulders. The student is required to have excellent grades at school, he is taken to developmental classes in languages, or mathematics, or chess; as well as sports sections and compulsory reading at night. But any resource is not unlimited, and even the most reliable mechanism will break from constant stress. In the case of children, mindfulness suffers first.
6. A diametrically opposite situation is when a student does not have time to study, because he does not understand why he needs it at all. Parents, and then all adults, do not have authority in his eyes. What they try to explain to him about the importance of education, he considers insignificant. It is much more important for him to communicate with a yard company or play online shooters. This is not about distracted attention, but about the lack of motivation for education. As soon as the child realizes that he desperately needs it, he will be transformed before our eyes.

Based on everything that has been listed, it becomes clear that a congenital disease is not always the cause of childhood forgetfulness.

Very often distraction is the result of wrong upbringing child.

And if so, then there is probably a recipe for how to deal with inattention.

What Not to Do

It is very difficult to recognize and accept your own mistakes. Especially for an adult when it comes to relationships with a child. It’s much easier to say: “Yes, he himself is such a slob, you can’t do anything here!”. Yes, shifting the blame to the baby is the simplest, but not the wisest decision.

It depends only on the parents how their child will grow up. It is necessary to instill the right values ​​in your child from an early age, because then it will become almost impossible to drive at least some truth into the head of a doubting teenager.

The most common mistake in raising children is categorical prohibitions. It is easy to ban, it is more difficult to explain why it is impossible to do so. But you still need to tell how to do it right and why it is so - right.

The ban is held as long as the controller watches. And if you explain to the kid the reasons and consequences of his actions, he will begin to think every time on his own, before committing an act.

The reverse version of a simple ban is a long and tedious lecture to a delinquent child about the foundations of morality and morality. At this moment, the “lecturer” parent feels at his best: he also pays attention to the younger generation. But how is this perceived by the baby, who recently got up from the potty? But no way!

Lecture as a punishment is meaningless, because the child will meet it with hostility.

Then, the ability to absorb information in adults and children is different and depends on language development: the child will not understand half. This is often forgotten, or even not known at all, by those who are trying to "read morals" to small children.

Another is the time during which the child's brain is able to concentrate. The first grader has distracted attention, and this is normal for his age.

With the development of intellect, he will learn to consciously control concentration, maintaining it on a certain topic for a longer time.

Therefore, moralizing will be effective only if two conditions are met:

1. The readiness of the listener to accept information favorably.
2. The brevity of the lecture (what is impossible, why, how to fix it, what are the benefits).

The main mistakes of parents

Now let's briefly touch on other mistakes that parents make when trying to correct the absent-mindedness of their child.

What not to do:

• it is impossible to scold for inattention;
• ridicule is an insult to a child, especially in public;
• you can’t compare your and a “good” child - so you say that yours is bad;
• to independently do what the baby can do - this provokes his carelessness, infantilism;
• force the baby many times (for memorization) to redo the work.

Blaming a small child for his own failures in parenting is dishonest. Dear Parents, try to accept that the distraction of the baby's attention, if it is not caused by an illness, is your omission.

Only by working together will you improve the situation, but you need to treat each other with respect.

What will help the child become more attentive

If you notice excessive mobility, excitability, coupled with a lack of concentration in the crumbs, then take him to a neurologist. Maybe the cause of distraction lies in ADHD.

Your attention to his life will make the baby more in himself.

Praise him for his success, participate in homework (do not do it instead of him, but direct the train of thought). Teach the student to double-check their work. The presence of the parent mobilizes concentration in the child.

Organize a comfortable atmosphere at home. Close the door to the baby's room or turn down the sound of the TV while doing homework. Also enter a time limit for homework to make sitting at the table productive.

Motivate your child a little every day. Stories about your successes at work related to the fact that you studied well will do; praise for success, extra minutes of computer use, or money for reading books.

Remove excess load, if any. Chronic fatigue syndrome is not the best companion for a small child.

Developing games that train memory are also suitable:

• chess is the alpha and omega of good memory;
• anagrams - make short words from one long one;
• funny poems or favorite songs for memory - an excellent brain training;
• computer pictures like "Find the cat".

Conclusion

As you can see, overcoming absent-mindedness can be easy and fun. The main thing is to engage in the development of memory regularly.

Love your children, be closer to them, and then you will be surprised at their success!

Inattentive child. How to help him become attentive?

Many parents are faced with the problem of inattentiveness of the child and it is not so easy to deal with it. When your baby is distracted and inattentive, then you should not blame him for this, because the point is not that he does not want to do this task, but it is simply difficult for him to cope with it. After all, it is very difficult for such guys to focus on one thing, to show attention and concentrate on an uninteresting task for him, but notice how skillfully and clearly he does what he likes.
"Consider" the portrait of an inattentive child. Such a baby:

Often unable to pay attention to details, makes mistakes due to negligence.
It seems that the child does not hear the speech addressed to him.
Systematically experiences difficulties in organizing independent work.
Usually avoids tasks that require prolonged mental effort.
Often loses essential items.
Easily distracted by foreign objects.
Shows forgetfulness in everyday situations.
Answers in the affirmative should be given if the listed signs appear for a long time (at least six months) in kindergarten, at home, regardless of the situation. If you answered yes to 6 or more questions, then the child needs help.

The reasons for the lack of attention are different:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Children with a similar diagnosis (established only by a doctor) are characterized by excessive motor activity, impulsiveness, poor concentration, high distractibility. The parents of such children require the utmost patience and consistency in their relationship with the child. They should carry out their educational practice in close contact with doctors, teachers and psychologists, since children with attention deficit disorder need special complex correctional and developmental work.
Chronic somatic diseases, soreness of the child.Children with poor health are characterized by high fatigue, low performance. The reduced function of their attention may be due to a general weakening of the body. Such children need obligatory observance of the regimen, dosing loads, rest (daytime sleep is desirable). Under these conditions, which reduce the impact of physical and physiological limitations, such children can have a good attention.
Individual features of the nervous system.The properties of higher nervous activity affect the development of all properties of attention: for students with strong andthe mobile nervous system is more characterized by stable, well-switched and distributed attention. Students with an inert and weak nervous system are more likely to have unstable, poorly switched and distributed attention.
Overwork and overload.Physical, psychological, informational overloads inevitably lead to a decrease in working capacity, an increase in inattention and absent-mindedness of children.
Age restrictions in the development of attention.Attention of children preschool age may not be perfect due to age features general mental development. Attention at this age is really still poorly organized, has a small volume, is poorly distributed and unstable. The reason for this is the insufficient maturity of the neurophysiological mechanisms that ensure the processes of attention and control over the performance of activities.
Insufficient motivation to perform activities.It is well known that even Small child can show enviable attentiveness and concentration, if he does what he is very interested in. As a rule, children's inattention comes up when they are required to do something unattractive, not very interesting and not significant enough.

mindfulness can be developedjust like memory or strength. This requires a lot of effort, both on the part of parents and on the part of the baby himself.

How can you help your child deal with inattention?
1. Consciously caring about the development of the child's attention, the parent himself must be attentive to the child, show sincere interest in his activities, his life. After all, the development of attention contributes to the involvement of the child in any purposeful activity.
2. The main thing for such children is a strict daily routine, when the baby can both work out and relax, because fatigue leads to a decrease in self-control and frequent distractions.
3. Focus on his successes, not on his mistakes, praise him if he did something right.
4. You should not load the baby with several tasks at the same time, it is better to let him slowly but consistently complete each one.
5. When a distracted inattentive child performs any tasks, then distribute them so that difficult ones alternate with easy ones and do not forget about breaks, emphasizing that this is not just a time for games, but a change in order to gain strength for the next task .
6. At first, tasks with such children must be completed together, and then gradually accustomed to independence. Of course, there should be control, but not as a criticism, but as an interest.
7. The first thing to teach a child is to check his work. Teachers assure that the same amount of time should be spent on checking what is written as ondoing the work itself. Yes, it's boring and tedious, but the result is worth it.
8. It is best to develop attention in game form. Various games and exercises aimed at training various properties of attention are suitable:
- Development of concentration(the ability to concentrate and not be distracted to work on the task). The main type of exercise is proofreading tasks, in which the child is asked to find and cross out certain letters (pictures) in printed text. Such exercises allow the child to feel what it means to "be attentive" and to develop a state of inner concentration. This work should be carried out daily (5 minutes a day) for 2-4 months. It is also recommended to use tasks that require the selection of signs of objects and phenomena; exercises based on the principle of exact reproduction of any sample (a sequence of letters, numbers, geometric patterns, movements, etc.); tracing tangled lines, searching for hidden figures, etc.
- Increasing attention span(the ability to keep in sight all the necessary working information). The exercises are based on memorizing the number and order of a number of objects presented for examination for a few seconds. As you master the exercise, the number of objects gradually increases.
- Attention training(ability to do several things at the same time). The main principle of the exercises: the child is offered the simultaneous performance of two multidirectional tasks (for example, reading a story and counting the strokes of a pencil on the table, performing a proofreading task and listening to a record of a fairy tale, etc.). At the end of the exercise (after 5-10 minutes), the effectiveness of each task is determined.

How often can one observe such a picture: a student is preparing lessons. Here he is sitting at the table by the window. In front of him is an open notebook and a textbook on arithmetic, but his gaze is fixed somewhere into an unknown distance, and with a pencil he seems to want to drill a hole in his own cheek.

Have you solved the problem?
- No ... But I'm already thinking.

And in the notebook there are no traces of other work, except for reflection, although he has been sitting like that for half an hour. What is he thinking about?

Of course, not about 100 kilograms of sugar beet, from which 18 kilograms of sugar are obtained, and not about how much sugar will be obtained from 10 tons of this beet ... He, apparently, seriously wanted to do arithmetic, but his thoughts arbitrarily ran away from the textbook and carried away a boy's imagination.

Is he guilty? Of course not. He just doesn't know how to control his attention yet.

They say about such children: distracted and inattentive. And success in school, as a rule, leaves much to be desired. What to do? Absent-mindedness is a completely surmountable shortcoming in the behavior and character of the child. It is only necessary to scold and punish her less, because this will not help. Better to find real reasons distraction and inattention of the child and try to eliminate them.

Causes of distraction in children

Absent-mindedness is quite often observed in children and sometimes becomes simply catastrophic. The causes of childhood absent-mindedness are very diverse: some kind of malaise, nervousness (hypersensitivity, rapid excitability), lack of vitamins, rapid fatigue as a result of unorganized life (the child goes to bed late, sleeps little, is little in the air, eats irregularly), the consequences of a previous illness .

What to do if the child is distracted and inattentive?

First of all, seek the advice of a pediatrician to determine if the child has any ailments, and if so, immediately begin treatment.

But it turns out that the child is healthy, and the doctor did not prescribe any medication, but gave advice: in no case should you scold the child for absent-mindedness, do not ridicule this shortcoming in him, as is often the case in the family circle and even at school.

A mocking attitude does not help, but brings great harm: the child ceases to respect himself, loses faith in himself, becomes embittered. It is necessary to help the little schoolboy to study, but at the same time, it is imperative to give him independent work, and if he succeeded even in the most trifling work, he must certainly be praised: “Look, what a fine fellow you are! He did great on his own!"

All parents know what great value has the correct organization of the life of children (sleep, nutrition, Fresh air), but they often underestimate the role that the whole atmosphere of life and life of the family plays in the general physical and moral state of the child.

A few examples:

1. The girl at school is very distracted. She always has some kind of absent look, she definitely does not hear what is happening around, inappropriately answers questions. She began to get bad grades, although she used to be a good student. Something happened to her.

The class teacher became interested in her home life and found out that her parents were separating. Of course, the girl is having a hard time with this family discord, she is shocked by this terrible and so incomprehensible fact for her. Where can I listen to the teacher's explanations!?

This is no longer weak attention or painful absent-mindedness, but a heavy grief that does not give rest and makes it impossible to concentrate thoughts on educational work. And parents get off with a proverb: "If it grinds - there will be flour."

2. The first grader who qualifies as " difficult child”: in the classroom she cannot sit still for a minute, turns around, looks around, is so absent-minded that she does not hear when the teacher addresses her. Can not get in time. Finally, the parents were called to the school. Father came. Everything became clear from a conversation with him.

The upbringing of the girl depends entirely on the mood of the mother. V good mood mother caresses and pampers her daughter, in bad weather she finds fault, beats the girl and even kicks her out of the house. She is deprived of peace of mind, hence nervousness and absent-mindedness, which could easily be eliminated if her mother had a reasonable attitude towards her.

How to improve attention?

The hours when children prepare their lessons are holy hours. Oh, if all parents thought so! Then, probably, there would be no losers or repeaters. But the “sanctity” of this child labor is constantly neglected by adults.
- Come on, quickly, run to the store! We've run out of tea.
- Look for my glasses, please. Where have they gone!
- Someone's calling. Come on, open up. What, don't you hear?

Such and similar “innocent” demands are continually presented to the schoolchild during his homework, and adults, busy at this time even with the most trifling work, or even just chattering, often do not want to understand their guilt: after all, distraction from academic work, even if only for a short time, diverts the child's attention, it is difficult for him to gather again, to get rid of the impressions that have taken possession of his thoughts during the "errands". His attention has weakened, he works worse, or even quits classes altogether.

Parents are obliged to constantly take care of strengthening the attention of the child, while one of the best methods is to develop the habit of completing any work begun.

Here our little schoolboy decided to put things in order on his bookshelf. He works with passion, dusting, neatly arranging the books. And suddenly one of the books opened in his hands in the place where a very bright, interesting picture was placed. The picture book is one more beautiful than the other - and the cleaning of the shelf is suspended: the child is immersed in looking at the pictures.

"Oh no, my friend! You can’t do that,” the attentive mother will say. - First, finish the work you have started, and then you will look at the pictures. Put that book down and we'll see together." And a smart mother will make sure that the work begun is completed, and will reward her son with the pleasure of watching pictures with his mother.

Thus, the child develops character, purposefulness, the will is brought up - and all this contributes to attention.

It is important to teach the child to order

An equally useful technique in the fight against children's absent-mindedness is to inculcate from the earliest years the habit of order and accuracy.

scattered children often lose books, gloves, forget about given promise, rules of conduct in the family and school. But after all, the child himself does not easily experience his mistake or loss: he is ashamed and it is difficult to admit his guilt. But his experiences are usually obscured from his mother's eyes and heart by material loss or embarrassment in front of people, and the mother pounces on the "blunder" as a criminal, further aggravating his grave condition, causing him more and resentment.

In such cases, it is impossible to scold or punish the child - this will not help, but will only cause a feeling of confusion and disbelief in oneself, which cannot at all serve as a cure for absent-mindedness. Another thing will help: you need to constantly, but unobtrusively and not rudely to instill love and the habit of order.

In the evening, together with the child, you need to think about what things you would not forget to prepare for tomorrow, are all the necessary notebooks and textbooks packed in schoolbag, if there are any extra ones - you need to take them out, - is the book forgotten, which the deadline has come to take to the library. What about clothes? Whether it is cleaned, whether it is necessary to sew on a button.

Finally, getting ready for bed(Let the child take apart the bed, wash himself, brush his teeth, neatly fold or hang up clothes). The mother does all this first together with the child, gradually accustoming him to independence, and then he develops the habit, without a reminder and without outside help, to think about his tomorrow's affairs and duties, take care of his things, keep them in order.

The child will feel interest in things, appreciate their necessity, realize his duties and needs in home and school life, learn to take care of things. Thus, to some extent, the principle of labor education, to which so much attention is paid in our family and at school, is also implemented.

It is possible and necessary to fight children's absent-mindedness, but at the same time, first of all, one must remember that one cannot scold and punish a child for absent-mindedness, but one should look for the cause of this shortcoming and the means to eliminate this cause.

From an old magazine from the times of the USSR

Attention disorder can be treated different ways. They depend on many factors - on the causes and origin of this symptom, as well as the person himself - his character and individual characteristics.

You can correct absent-mindedness in a child with the help of special classes aimed at improving concentration. These are puzzles and logic puzzles that the baby must solve. It is also important to clearly distribute classes for the day, allocating more time for physical activity and complete rest. If mental illness is not found in a child, then the reason for absent-mindedness is likely to be a lack of interest in the proposed activities. So at the initial stage of adjustment, you need to try to solve the problem without involving drugs. It is necessary to captivate the baby so that he himself is interested in what he is doing - then he will be able to concentrate better.

Growing children's body requires a balance of beneficial vitamins, because its absence can also cause problems with attentiveness. In this case, it will be useful to take a complex of vitamins. If the problem arose due to disorders in the immune system, you can undergo treatment with immunostimulants.

Drug treatment

Among the medicines that can treat absent-mindedness in a child, psychostimulants are distinguished, which must be taken under the supervision of a doctor.

• Glycine, which is a nootropic drug. It helps to improve mental abilities, increases efficiency, affects the increase in protective processes in the central nervous system. The dosage is 1 tab. under the tongue.
• Piracetam, which improves the brain metabolic process, which helps to better absorb school material. For children, the daily dose of the drug is 30-50 mg.

Side effects: irritability, anxiety, nausea, diarrhea, headaches, tremors, convulsions.

Contraindications: Not suitable for children with diabetes and allergies to fruit juices. Also, you can not assign infants under 1 year.

• Biotredin, which positively affects the cognitive functions of the brain. It increases alertness and improves memory. The dosage for children is 2 mg/kg body weight for 3-10 days.

Contraindications: do not take together with antidepressants, antipsychotics, tranquilizers.

• Phenibut, which improves blood flow to the brain - it improves brain performance, memory, and helps to remember better large volume information.

Contraindications:

• pregnancy;
• when breastfeeding;
• liver failure.

The dosage of the drug for children is 20-250 mg. More precisely, it is prescribed by a doctor, depending on the individual characteristics of the patient.

Side effects: anxiety, irritability, excessive excitability may occur.

Physiotherapy treatment

Absent-mindedness in a child can be corrected without the use of drugs - the course consists of various procedures, including correction by neuropsychological and pedagogical methods, psychotherapy, methods of behavior modification. Physiotherapy procedures are also used.

• Laser therapy - the course includes 7-10 procedures, for one of which 3-5 zones of the body are irradiated.
• UHF therapy, consisting of 8-10 procedures.
• 5-10 inhalation procedures.
• The course of UVR of the nasopharynx for 3-5 procedures.
• Ultrasound course, consisting of 8-10 procedures.

Parents need to consult a psychotherapist, where they will be explained that they should not perceive such behavior of the child negatively - he does not do it on purpose, so he must be treated patiently and with understanding. It is also necessary to ensure that the child observes the daily routine - eat at a certain time, do homework, go to bed. Let him get rid of excess energy during long walks, running, jumping, doing physical exercises.

Because it is difficult for such a child to concentrate, try not to load him with tasks - let there be only one for a separate time period. You should also carefully select his playmates - they should be calm and balanced.

Alternative treatment

Absent-mindedness in a child can be treated with some folk remedies.

For example, juniper berries are good. They must be eaten, starting with the 1st piece per day, and so, gradually increasing by one, to reach 12 pieces. Next, you need to reverse the course - in descending order.

• Tartar prickly - pour 20 g of boiling water over the grass and leave it on low heat for 10 minutes. The resulting tincture should be drunk 3-4 times a day 1 tbsp.

Mix together 2 parts of chopped dry root of pink rhodiola and echinacea and add hop cones (1 part) to the resulting mixture. A tablespoon of this collection is poured with a glass of boiling water and infused for a quarter of an hour. Honey (2 tsp) is added to the resulting broth and drunk throughout the day, dividing the contents into 3 parts. This course lasts for about a month.

• Immortelle grass is poured with boiling water (about 10 grams), after which this tincture should be wrapped in a towel and left to infuse for 30-40 minutes. When the decoction is ready, it should be drunk in a dosage of a third of a glass. The procedure is performed 3 times / day.

Very useful for the body as a whole, and improving mindfulness in particular, ordinary garlic. Eat 1-2 cloves before each meal.

Herbal treatment

You can improve your child's attention with various ways. In this case, taking medicinal herbs will not interfere. They have a positive effect on the body, although we must not forget that such treatment should also be prescribed by a doctor. Herbs such as chamomile and lemon balm work well for absent-mindedness in a child. They promote better concentration, providing a calming effect.

A method such as phytotherapy is also used.

• Hawthorn tincture has a positive effect - it is drunk in a quarter cup daily. The recipe is as follows: grass flowers (1 tablespoon) are poured with a glass of hot water and infused for 2 hours;
• Drink 2-3 times daily 2 tablets of valerian tincture - it also has a calming, softening effect;
• Medicinal herbal collection, consisting of various herbs. It includes motherwort (a dose of 3 parts is taken), cudweed (also includes 3 parts), hawthorn (again 3 parts of the mixture), chamomile in the form of flower baskets (in the amount of 1 part). Next, 1 tbsp is taken. the resulting product is poured with a glass of boiling water, and infused for 8 hours. Then the collection is filtered and taken twice a day after meals for half a glass.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy can be used as an alternative to drug treatment. It can be prescribed if the child shows a toxic or allergic reaction to medications. Homeopathic remedies improve the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, increase the body's defenses, treat adenoids and behavioral problems - for example, distraction in a child.

This symptom can be observed in the presence of hyperactivity syndrome. The child not only becomes too noisy, violent and uncontrollable, but also behaves inattentively - he can forget, lose things, etc. Numerous examinations have shown that with this disease, the behavior of children who took individual doses of homeopathic remedies improved significantly calmer, more careful, more attentive, constant absent-mindedness disappeared. Among the most effective means homeopathy for ADHD:

• Stramonium, used as a decoction for baths, 20 g of the product is taken per bucket of water (3 or 6 dilution level);
• Cina - the course lasts 2-3 months, take 7 grains of the drug 1 time / week;
• Hyoscyamus niger, applied under the guise of bleached oil, which is used for external rubbing into the skin.

In today's rapidly changing world, overflowing with a huge amount of information, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remain attentive and concentrated even for adults, not to mention kids. Scattered attention in children today is becoming almost the norm, and more and more children's specialists are diagnosing attention deficit disorder, abbreviated as ADD.

Distraction in children is quite common

In medical practice, the first description of this problem dates back to the middle of the 19th century. The German psychologist G. Hoffman created a collective image of the little fidget Phil and explained in detail the causes of ADD and ways to combat this disease.

Distracted Attention Symptoms

Children with ADD are hyperactive and mobile. They are not able to sit still even for a while and do the same thing, even if it were incredibly interesting for the child. Such kids forget everything, they are sloppy and clumsy, they cannot remember the task, let alone repeat it.

Distraction leads to learning problems

Particularly pronounced distraction of attention is manifested in primary school. Such a student will endlessly spin at the desk, disturbing his neighbors and the teacher and disrupting the lesson, although he does not want this at all. Usually a smart and talented fidget cannot show his abilities to the end. The desire for leadership also does not work, because such a child does not get along well with his peers and usually does not gain authority.

Thus, children with distracted attention live in constant disharmony with themselves and the world around them. They need special care from parents and teachers, an individual approach to education and study.

Lack of attention is usually associated with neurobiological disorders, problems with hearing or vision, diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, you need to be able to recognize whether the child really suffers from ADD or whether he simply does not want to do what is required of him due to other reasons, such as laziness.

Definition of absent-mindedness and its causes

Causes of inattention

From research results it is known that ADD is diagnosed in approximately 5% of children in the world. This is enough a large number of, and it is constantly increasing. But in fact, there is no such parent who would not note the inattention and distraction of his child. Before drawing any conclusions, it is necessary to analyze the conditions in which a small person studies and rests, his regimen and loads, as well as his behavior and methods of education.

Here are some reasons why a child may be inattentive and not collected.

Education methods

You should not overprotect your beloved child. If the child knows that they will definitely help and prompt, and even do the task instead of him, then he will have no need to focus and train his skills. As a result, he will not strive to develop and improve.

Daily regime

For preschool children, it is necessary to follow a certain daily routine. The child should know at what time he should read a book or draw, and when he can just play in the yard with the boys.

Every child should have a certain daily routine

Having learned from childhood to properly allocate his time, he adulthood will be collected and concentrated.

How younger child the more difficult it is for him to hold his attention. But even a very small baby is able to concentrate on bright toy or a lit light bulb.

In teenagers distraction is provoked by gadgets

Features of physiology

Any disease can reduce the attention of the child. After an illness, a certain recovery period must pass and distraction of attention will disappear.

Mental disorders

Violations in the work of the brain and malfunctions in the activity of the nervous system inevitably affect the concentration of the baby's attention. These serious reasons can only be identified by a neurologist.

Parents should not demand special attention from a child with mental disorders. With such children, they are engaged in a special group according to a special program.

Defensive reaction

Often distraction is a defensive response to stress.

Scattered attention can be caused by the body's defensive response to fear, fatigue, or stress. If the student does not know how to solve equations in mathematics, then fear takes over, and his ability to concentrate during the test is sharply reduced.

Lack of vitamins in the body

Non-natural food products, poor ecology and at the same time huge physical and mental stress often lead to fatigue, and with it distraction of attention.

Lack of vitamins leads to absent-mindedness and lack of interest in everything

Lack of interest

Very often, parents and teachers note the absent-mindedness of the child, which immediately disappears as soon as he begins to do his favorite thing. If, while learning the multiplication table, a friend comes to visit and brings a train as a gift to the child, it is completely normal that all attention will be focused on the toy. Therefore, trying to keep the child's attention on a particular subject, it is necessary to create an appropriate atmosphere.

An overabundance of impressions and information in children reduces attention

genetic factors

Inattention can be passed on to the child along with the genes of the parents. If the father or mother is alcoholic or hyperactive, or if the pregnancy has been complicated, ADD may occur.

Ways to eliminate ADD

Only sometimes, in especially severe cases, the distraction of the child's attention requires treatment with medication. Usually, if a doctor has diagnosed ADD, they try to get by with the use of drugs that stimulate the immune and nervous systems, and the creation of certain conditions for rest and study of the child.

In order for the baby to be collected and attentive, parents need to establish a clear daily routine. Meals, bedtime and exercise must be scheduled in advance. It is necessary to leave two hours for free classes when the child will draw or build a house for the doll.

Children should be able to do chores around the house.

The child should have a range of responsibilities. You should not, on demand, help him in their implementation. Let him wash his own dishes, make the bed and put away his toys. Children should be given more independence. This will increase the attention of the child and allow him to express himself.

But at the same time, you can not leave the child alone with his problems. He should always feel the shoulder of an adult nearby, hope for his help and advice in resolving difficult situations.

Puzzles teach you to concentrate

From early childhood, it is necessary to conduct attention-developing classes with the baby. You can collect cubes or children's puzzles. If the child does not keep his attention on one thing, you need to involve him in action by asking him to take exactly the green cube, or to paint only the middle of the flower.

It is very important not to forget to praise the child. If the baby has distracted attention, you should not give him obviously impossible tasks. And if it turned out at least a little, you should not skimp on praise.

Never expect too much from a child. Life is sometimes so intense and eventful that sometimes you can just go to the forest or to the river, allowing yourself and your child to get rid of stress and fatigue.

If your child cannot concentrate on one thing and does not know how to concentrate, then this can greatly interfere with his life. It is likely that this is an Attention Deficit Disorder. How to identify and fix such a problem?

What it is?

Attention deficit disorder in children is often referred to as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD for short). This condition is accompanied by various deviations and disorders of behavior, mental activity, social activity. This term appeared relatively recently. It began to be used at the end of the last century.

But as a diagnosis, this condition began to be regarded only in the present century. Today, ADHD is diagnosed in approximately one in 10-15 children. Most often, the problem is detected between the ages of 4 and 9 years (it is simply impossible to make an accurate diagnosis earlier). Surprisingly, every year the number of children with such a problem is increasing, some experts even talk about a kind of epidemic.

Boys suffer from ADHD more often than girls by 3-5 times. In adults, this deviation also occurs, but more often children outgrow it. In some cases, manifestations persist into adulthood, but become less pronounced.

There are several types of attention deficit disorder:

• Separate attention deficit without any other obvious manifestations.
• Attention deficit combined with impulsivity. This is a more complex case.
• Attention deficit and hyperactivity. A complex condition that significantly complicates learning, socialization and other processes.
• Mixed type. Most difficult option, this condition can have a variety of manifestations.

How is it manifested?

How does distracted attention syndrome manifest itself in children? Here are some possible signs of this condition:

• The child cannot focus on one thing. This leads to errors in both school assignments and simple household chores.
• It may seem that the child does not listen to you or does not understand what you are talking to him about.
• Restlessness, inability and unwillingness to sit in one place and for a long time do one particular thing.
• Difficulties in following instructions, instructions, prescriptions.
• Difficulties in self-organization and self-control.
• Clutter in the room and in the workplace.
• The child is quickly distracted.
• Often there is forgetfulness. But it is connected not with memory problems, but with the inability to concentrate on one thing.
• The child often loses or forgets his things.
• It seems that the child is not goal-oriented, but in fact he simply does not understand how to go to his goal to the end, because he cannot concentrate on it.
• Difficulties in interacting with peers, with teachers, with family and friends.
• Behavior problems. Often children with distracted attention syndrome are naughty, noisy, rude, do everything out of spite.
• Anxiety.
• Carelessness, negligence.
• The child is constantly spinning, cannot sit in one place, jerks his legs and arms, gets up from his seat (even when it is forbidden), tries to climb somewhere, break something.
• Often such children are very talkative, but at the same time they cannot keep up a conversation on one specific topic.
• The child answers the questions without listening to them to the end.
• Impatience. For example, standing in line or waiting are real tests for such a child.
• It is not uncommon for children with Attention Deficit Disorder to be intrusive and may appear ill-mannered.

What causes distracted attention syndrome?

The nature of the development of such a state is still unknown, but there are several assumptions and theories. Here are the possible reasons:

• Most scientists agree that important role plays a hereditary factor. Specific genes have been identified that may influence behavior and cause some manifestations of diffuse influence syndrome.
• Deterioration of the ecological situation. Some experts believe that certain adverse conditions environment may lead to the development of ADHD.
• Birth trauma in a child and complications during childbirth (traumatic brain injury, asphyxia, prolonged or difficult labor) and related problems and conditions.
• Diseases carried over future mother during gestation and complications during pregnancy: intrauterine infections, hypoxia, cord entanglement, smoking and alcohol consumption by a woman during pregnancy, uterine hypertonicity and the threat of miscarriage, Rhesus conflict, abnormal position of the fetus, and so on.
• Traumatic brain injuries can also have a certain effect.
• Certain illnesses of the child, such as heart or lung failure, kidney disease, brain disease, asthma.
• Diseases suffered in the first months of life, accompanied by a significant increase in temperature (such an increase has an extremely negative effect on the state of the child's brain).

Diagnostics

It is not so easy to make an accurate diagnosis, because all the symptoms listed above can occur with other pathological conditions, diseases and disorders. Therefore, a specialist should monitor the child's condition and behavior in dynamics, as well as exclude other diseases.

A special role is played by parents who, at the request of the doctor, must accurately describe the behavior of their child in certain situations. It can take several months to make an accurate and final diagnosis.

How to get rid of the problem?

It is worth noting that in some cases children outgrow ADHD. But this is possible only under the condition of long-term and constant work of doctors, parents and relatives.

Here are some measures that may include the treatment of distracted attention syndrome:

1. Taking certain medications. It is necessary only in case of obvious and serious deviations and violations. Children may be prescribed sedatives. Taking strong medications childhood dangerous and harmful. Any remedy must be prescribed by a doctor.
2. Lifestyle change, regimen. So, if a child at school cannot sit still and is far behind his peers, then it makes sense to switch to home schooling. An individual approach and adjustment of the training program will make the process as comfortable and effective as possible for the child. It is extremely important to properly organize the daily routine. Its observance will help to discipline the child and accustom him to order.
3. The specialist should give advice to parents and tell them how best to organize the activities of the child, how to behave in certain situations. First, do not force the child to do something, it will only make him angry. Secondly, be patient and do not be nervous, otherwise the child will be nervous. Thirdly, always show your child that you love him.
4. In some cases, regular visits to a psychologist, certain classes and exercises are required.
5. Sports can help. It will provide an outlet for energy and allow you to discipline the child.

Health and success to your child!

The dream of any parent is a healthy, active child who studies well, successfully masters the skills of playing instruments and drawing, and always manages to fulfill his plans. But, unfortunately, these dreams are overshadowed by one unpleasant feature of the baby - inattention.

Causes of child neglect

Parents should not panic and make an appointment with a neurologist. First you need to find out the reasons that led to this problem.

Hyperactivity or attention deficit in adults. These children are not hard to spot. playground They never stay in one place for a minute. They are always in a hurry somewhere, rushing and being distracted by all sorts of external factors. Problems of this nature are detected at the age of 3-5 years and require great patience from parents. The upbringing of such a child should take place under the supervision of physicians, teachers and psychologists.

Frequent chronic illnesses. Poor health is another reason why a child forgets everything and is inattentive. To replenish the energy supply of the child, it is necessary to systematically drink courses of vitamins for schoolchildren.

Features of the nervous system. Attentive, active and stable children with a labile character. Their inert classmates will be more lethargic, mediocre.

High loads, as a result - overwork. Experts say that the intensive school program and the desire of parents to involve the child in all circles leads to congestion. As a result, efficiency and vigilance decrease.

Lack of motivation. Even a one-year-old baby will pay attention to the toy that he likes. When performing boring, uninteresting tasks, attention drops exponentially.

Risk group

An absent-minded and inattentive child is not uncommon today, but in some cases the problem is especially acute. Stress, chronic fatigue, inharmonious daily routine, the abuse of unhealthy food and poor ecology exacerbate this character trait. Parents should make every effort to provide their child with ideal living conditions.

Signs of a child's inattention

Distractedness and lack of concentration in a child can manifest itself in the following:

1. Quick superficial performance of assigned tasks, especially school assignments.
2. Slowness.
3. Dreaminess.
4. Quick fatigue even from a small amount of work.
5. A large number of errors when performing simple tasks.
6. Lack of attention and concentration in the process of work.

Finding a Solution to a Problem

If the child is inattentive, what should I do? The main thing is not to get excited and not to make difficult diagnoses. All parents should remember this. Experts in the field of pediatrics recommend training voluntary attention from infancy. Help for moms and dads wide range of educational toys in children's stores. Dynamic attributes will improve the attention of babies up to a year.

If problems with attention disorder appeared at an older age, for example, when the child went to kindergarten or school, it is necessary to look for the main causes of inattention. Teachers recommend optimizing the child’s workspace as much as possible - allocate a separate quiet place in the house where he can concentrate and prepare homework.

Inattention in the classroom

The development of memory and attention is a direct path to fives. The main reason for the absent-mindedness of a primary school student is the insufficient participation of parents in educational process or its complete absence. In order to maximize the child's mindfulness, you need to engage with him from the first day of school, including holidays. First of all, it is necessary to find out what teachers and parents mean by the concept of “inattention”. In the second - to trace how absent-mindedness manifests itself in a child.

It is not uncommon for a student to be inattentive in a particular discipline. This means that the subject is not interesting to him or the teacher fails to interest the children. If the dispersal persists at home, something is probably bothering the baby.

How can you help your child become more attentive?

In an effort to help a child, adults need to be guided by only one rule - you need to educate not the baby, but yourself. This work is not easy, it takes a lot of time and effort, but the result will be simply stunning! By and large, not so much is required from parents:

It is important to understand that all the efforts made in the fight against the inattention of the child will be nullified without daily activities and exercises. They are simple, accessible, do not require special time and emotional costs. In return, they will provide an entertaining pastime and a great mood.

"I won't go astray" - an exercise to develop attention

A simple technique is aimed at developing concentration and eliminating the disorder of the distribution of attention in children. The child is asked to count up to 31, saying each number out loud. At the same time, figures that contain a triple or are multiples of this number should not be called. Instead, the student should say "I won't go astray." For example: 1, 2, "I won't go astray", 4, 5, "I won't go astray", 7, 8, "I won't go astray" and so on up to 31.

"The letter is forbidden"

A typical mindfulness task. An adult names a letter that should not be used in a word. The child is asked a simple question, for example, what is the name of the teacher, what day of the week is it, etc. He must give an answer without hesitation, excluding the forbidden letter from the phrase. For example, the forbidden letter “n”, when asked what month of the year it is (November), the child should answer “November”.

The essence of the exercise is simplicity. Do not ask too complex questions, the student should answer without hesitation and without delay. If an incorrect answer was given, the partners change roles - the child becomes the leader and asks his questions.

"Observation"

With this exercise, an inattentive child will be able to develop visual attention. Mom or dad should invite him to remember objects that he has met many times. There are a lot of options - grandmother's apartment, the road to school, the location of attractions on the playground. It is necessary to describe in as much detail as possible, paying attention to even insignificant details.

The game can be a team game. For example, one of the children acts as a respondent, while others prompt him or complete the answer.

Educational game for attention "Palms"

The described task for attentiveness is perfect for kids with impaired concentration stability. Several players (the more, the more interesting) sit in a circle and put their hands on the knees of their neighbors. The right hand of each participant should lie on the left knee of the neighbor on the right, and the left on the right knee of the neighbor on the left. At the command of an adult (you can turn on fast clockwork music), you should raise your hands in turn, forming a smooth wave. Guys who raise their hands at the wrong time are excluded from the circle of players. The winner is the one whose palm remains in the game last.

"Flies - does not fly"

A game for developing attention for children, aimed at training its arbitrary switching. Participants sit in a semicircle. The facilitator, teacher or parent begins to list the subjects. If the spoken object is flying, children should raise their arms above their heads, otherwise they should sit still.

As soon as the guys get a taste, the main one can start to cheat by raising his hand up on a non-flying object. Due to the power of imitation, the hands of some participants will go up intuitively.

The task of each child participant is to raise their hands deliberately, not paying attention to the actions of the neighbors and the leader.

Riddles for the development of attention

Riddles for attentiveness will help in a playful way to increase the intelligence and ability to concentrate the child.

Riddle number 1. The chest lies at the bottom of the ocean. It has everything but one. What is it about?

Answer: emptiness.

Riddle number 2. The plane flies from Berlin to New Mexico. You are his navigator. There will be one change in Paris. What is the navigator's last name?

Answer: Respondent's name.

Riddle number 3. You are closed in a dark room, in the hands of boxes with one match inside. There is a kerosene lamp in the corner, a gas stove on the table, a candle in a glass. Which item should be lit first?

Answer: Match. An excellent riddle for attentiveness and the ability to find the simplest solution to a problem.

Riddle number 4. How many black peppercorns will go into one glass beaker?

Answer: None, peas do not go.

Riddle No. 5. It started to rain, I had to open my umbrella. What umbrella am I under?

Answer: Wet. Simple logic problem.

Riddle No. 6. Two men walk towards each other. They are exactly the same in age, height, etc. Which of the men will be the first to say hello?

Answer: The most polite.

Riddle number 7. Seven sisters live in the country, no one sits idle. The first girl is watching TV, the second is preparing dinner, the third is solving a crossword puzzle, the fourth is playing chess, the fifth is tending the plants, the sixth is washing clothes. What does the seventh sister do?

Answer: playing chess (this is a doubles game, so the fourth is unlikely to play alone).

Photo: Gennadiy Poznyakov/Rusmediabank.ru

Good memory, the ability to concentrate, listen carefully - all this is necessary for successful study at school. However, children often suffer from inattention and distraction. And this leads to incorrectly completed tasks and a deterioration in learning outcomes in general. How to fix this situation?

Causes of inattention

How is it manifested? You can usually notice the following signs:
the child has difficulty presenting information;
it is very difficult to find and correct errors;
textual mathematical problems are difficult;
extraneous sounds immediately distract from a specific task;
the child cannot establish a causal relationship.

If you saw one or two signs, then the student needs help. He himself is unable to solve this problem.

Why is the child distracted and not concentrated? There can be many reasons. Here are the main ones:
poor health - the body is fighting viruses and there is no longer enough strength to hold attention;
with hyperactivity - it is difficult for a child with such a diagnosis to focus on something for a long time;
great emotional and physical stress - the more the child gets tired, the less he controls his attention;
there is a negative emotional situation in the family - parents argue and swear, and this negatively affects the student;
the child is not interested in learning - he is bored, because there are many others interesting activities;
children are weak nervous system- because of this, the child is not able to quickly switch and concentrate on some type of activity;
parents do not create a working environment for the student - there is no desk, the child is often distracted by conversations.

You can try to fix all this, but you will have to make a lot of effort.

How to help a child?

Of course, if a child is diagnosed with ADHD, then a specialist consultation is necessary. The doctor will prescribe the appropriate treatment and give recommendations that will help to cope with the problem.

If a student is often sick, then it is necessary. Proper nutrition, rest and study regimen, hardening, frequent walks - this is what will help the child become stronger and healthier. As for other causes of inattention, other actions are needed here.

First of all, parents should pay more attention to the child. Try to watch how the student prepares his homework, teach him to check the work, help him in difficult moments. Do all this kindly, do not criticize or scold the child constantly. This will only exacerbate the problem. If a student does not have an interest in learning, it is necessary to instill this interest by any means. This is easy to do with younger students - tell something interesting about literature, language, mathematics and other subjects. If the child sees that the lesson is not just boring assignments, but also getting new entertaining information, he will want to learn.

It is very useful to plan the lessons and the daily routine. This will help the child to better navigate in time, not be distracted by extraneous matters and be more responsible in their tasks. Make a daily routine and plan with your child, take into account his opinion.

It is important to prepare the child's workplace. The student should have his own desk, everything superfluous must be removed from it - toys, books, telephone. And, of course, you should create a working environment so that the student is not distracted by anything - TV, telephone, computer, conversations.

Calm home climate is another important point in problem solving. Communication should be friendly, calm, avoid quarrels and showdown in front of the child.

All these tips will help develop responsibility and develop a desire to learn.

Games for attention and memory

And be sure to play special games that train memory, contribute to concentration.

Here are a few useful games:
collecting puzzles;
letter game - make a lot out of a long word short words;
games of chess and checkers;
game - find the object. It is necessary to lay out five to seven items, the child must remember them. Then the child turns away, and the adult removes one object. The child must find out what is missing;
various labyrinths and logical chains;
game - "edible-inedible" (ball game);
various children's card games;
game - on two similar drawings.

There are a lot of such games in children's magazines. Although you can invent them yourself. It is also useful to memorize verses, look for errors in the text, describe the picture using as many words as possible.

The main thing is to deal with the child systematically, to encourage success at school and just for diligence, because grades will not immediately improve.