Is your child poor at concentrating?

John Muturi

Most nursery and primary school-aged children have short attention spans and it is worse if they are engaged in an activity that does not excite them. But if this manifests in high levels, there is cause for worry.

There are many reasons why a child may have concentration difficulties. In school, for instance, the child may be disengaged because the work is too hard or too easy for them. They could also be having poor language or listening skills, hearing or vision problems, or they may be depressed.

From a very early age, a child has considerable powers of concentration. For instance, a baby that is just a few days old has the capacity to concentrate on feeding from the breast or bottle. As it grows into a toddler, and then into a young child, the child should be able to concentrate on an ever-widening range of activities and for a longer time.

Laid down boundaries

A child’s concentration drive continues to improve during childhood although it is at its best when he or she is really interested in a task. All the same, individual children differ considerably in how long they can concentrate on tasks such as drawing, sitting in class listening to the teacher, or doing homework on their own.

A child’s concentration power partly depends on their temperament and also on their upbringing — for instance, whether they have been consistently rewarded or commended for concentrating and the extent to which their parents have laid down clear boundaries between accepted and unacceptable behaviour.

A child who finds it unusually hard to concentrate may also find it difficult to cope with the demands of everyday life, particularly in the classroom. And they may be unaware that they have a problem. It is often the teacher or parent who first notes that a child has hearing or vision difficulties.

Lack of concentration might also reflect some other issues, such as personality clash between the child and a particular teacher. It may also result from depression such that the child loses interest in school or social activities.

When is it a disorder?

Some children are unable to focus on anything for more than a few moments. As well as showing poor concentration, these children are generally impulsive, over-active, distractible and unusually free with strangers. In school, they cannot remain in their desks for long and frequently disrupt others. These children have Attention Deficit\Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Boys are at least three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with this condition.

There is a thin line between children who are thought to have ADHD and those who are just unusually active and distractible. That is why doctors and psychologists sometimes differ in their opinions about whether a child is suffering from ADHD or not. Some psychiatrists, psychologists and paediatricians, argue, that these children do not need diagnosis and medication, but suitable upbringing and care.

Some are badly affected

However, while many experts think the ADHD diagnosis is applied too generally, most agree that some children are badly affected by their concentration problems, and have difficulties no matter how much other people try to make allowances for them.

In their book, What Worries Parents, authors Kristina Murrin and Paul Martin, explain that the condition results from an inherited vulnerability. These children, they say, are born with a propensity to be unusually active and lacking in concentration. Some ADHD children are born to parents who have difficulty in setting clear limits to what is permitted. Other parents are not very good at noticing when their children want attention, perhaps because they are preoccupied with their own problems. A combination of predisposition and unsuitable environment is likely to lead to a child developing the problem. However, some children are so genetically vulnerable that they would probably develop the problem no matter how marvellous the parents were.

Children with ADHD have a greater risk of experiencing educational, behavioural and social difficulties. Their language development may be delayed and they may have difficulty learning to read. One of the biggest risks arises when the disorder leads to anti-social behaviour in childhood and adolescence. This means that such children are less likely to do well in normal schools.

On a positive note, however, many children with the condition do well later in life. They may choose jobs that suit their restlessness. Most will be able to lead normal lives, although they may have more than their fair share of ups and downs in their personal relationships. Children, who are ‘normally hyperactive’ as opposed to having ADHD, may not experience any unusual difficulties later in life.

Helping the child

Whatever a child’s level of concentration problems, parents can greatly help to improve the situation. Try to be realistic about your child’s ability to concentrate on single tasks for long periods, especially if they do not find those tasks interesting.

Find out if your child’s problem is specific to one situation or whether it is more general. If your child shows concentration difficulties at home, talk to their teacher to find out if he or she displays the same in school.

It is important to know whether your child’s hearing and vision are okay as it could otherwise cause them to be bored, frustrated and disengaged in classroom.

Making sure the child is getting enough sleep will help, as lack of it is a major cause of loss of concentration. You need to give the child clear and simple instructions and divide up tasks into small, easily achievable steps. Make sure your child has everything they need to complete a task before they start it.

And when the child concentrates just a bit longer than usual, praise and reward him or her. Let your child have only one toy or one book at a time, or only one friend to play with at a time. Also, encourage your child to do a lot of physical exercise.

However, for the children with ADHD, professional help is also needed starting with specialist assessment. After confirmation of ADHD, some form of behavioural intervention is embarked on. This will involve advising parents about the need for consistency, a calm environment, avoiding over-stimulation of the child and rewards for small improvements in behaviour. This kind of intervention often results in behaviour improvement in the child, but if it fails to make things better, then a doctor will put the child on a course of stimulant drugs, to manage but not cure the condition. The condition is usually long lasting and although the level of hyperactivity may decline with age, difficulties with attention may persist into adolescence and adulthood.