Speech Pathology Advice SmallTalk Speech & Language Therapy www.smalltalkspeech.com.

au

Attention Skills in Children
Our attention is attracted - and held - by things that interest us, whether that is a
particular food we want to eat, books we want to read, or toys we want to play with.
The length of a child's attention span depends on how
interesting they find an activity.

As adults, there are things we make ourselves pay
attention to. We stick with tasks because we know we
need to or because other people ask us to, such as
reading the same story over and over to our child or
finishing a boring report for work. Only gradually do
children learn this self-discipline.

What does this mean about children's attention spans? It
means parents need to be realistic about attention span and
plan activities accordingly. It also means that we need to help
children develop their attention spans: by playing with them, by
attracting their attention to things we see or hear, by
introducing them to new projects and sports, by helping them
with challenging activities - and most of all, by turning off
televisions, computers and electronic games.

How long should my child be able to concentrate for?

Attention span in children is variable depending on age. A child's normal attention span
is 3-5 minutes for every year of age. In other words, a 2 year old should be able to
concentrate for at least 6 minutes and a 5 year old should be able to focus for at least
15 minutes.

Typical Attention Span by Age
Age Activity How Can We Help?
2 to 7
months
A baby may watch someone, copy
expressions, and trade sounds for as
long as 2-3 minutes at 2 months. By
7 months, this typically continues for
at least 5 minutes.
Take turns leading and following. Be
warm, interested, and interesting to look
at. Let babies rest when they turn away.
18
months
Alone, a toddler may spend 30
seconds on a single activity or a
minute or two on several activities
before seeking the caregiver's
attention.
Keep adult expectations realistic.
2 years Alone, a 2-year-old may spend 30-
60 seconds on a single activity; with
an adult's active encouragement,
2-3 minutes.
By playing with toddlers or talking about
their activities, adults can increase
children's attention spans. Point out
characteristics of whatever they are
playing with: "Do you see the black dot
on it?" "Will it fit in the cup?" "Can you
push it over here?"
2
years
Alone, the toddler may spend
about 2 minutes on a single activity.
Speech Pathology Advice SmallTalk Speech & Language Therapy www.smalltalkspeech.com.au

The usual preference: for almost
constant attention from an adult.
With or near a small group of
children, a toddler may play
peacefully for 10 minutes.

3 years A preschooler working alone may
spend 3-8 minutes on an interesting
activity and may finish it if it's easy.
Look for ways to keep preschoolers
interested in the activities they start.
Encourage and follow their interests.
Avoid distracting them or taking over the
activities.
3
years
Working alone, a preschooler can
stay busy for 15 minutes if there are
a variety of interesting choices.
4 years By 4, a child engrossed in an activity
may ignore distractions such as the
call to dinner.
Alone, the 4-year-old may spend 7-
8 minutes on a single activity, or as
much as 15 minutes if the activity is
new and especially interesting.
With a small group, a 4-year-old
may spend 5-10 minutes playing
without interruption.
Four-year-olds understand it is harder to
pay attention to uninteresting tasks, or
when distracted by noise or their own
thoughts. They are more likely to stay
interested when they're comfortable with
the task or project and feel successful.
They may need help to meet their
standards. Adults can also keep children
interested in projects with impromptu
games and humour.

4
years
Working alone, preschoolers may
spend 2-3 minutes on a task chosen
by an adult such as getting dressed
or picking up toys.
5 years By 5, most children can ignore
minor distractions. Alone, they will
focus on a single interesting activity
for 10 or 15 minutes and on an
assigned task for 4-6 minutes if it's
easy and interesting. A small group
of children can work or play
together without interruption for 10-
25 minutes.
Recognize that personal interest remains
the most important motivation for 5-year-
olds. It will double the length of their
attention span.

6 years Working alone on a single activity, a
6-year-old may stay interested for
as much as 30 minutes.
Continue to build on children's interests
and stay alert to difficult tasks, so that
you can help.
Adapted from resources by Helen F. Neville

Consult your paediatrician if:


You feel your childs attention skills are noticeably reduced
compared with those described above OR
Your child is particularly active, flitting from one activity to another
very quickly. This may be especially noticeable in new
environments if your child tends to look at, move to, touch
everything around them but not really stop and interact with any
one thing for very long.
Speech Pathology Advice SmallTalk Speech & Language Therapy www.smalltalkspeech.com.au

Strategies to help improve your childs attention

Reduce distractions in your childs environment, e.g. by turning off the TV.
Encourage your child to focus on one activity at a time. Let them choose their activity
but then limit the opportunity to switch to something else quickly by not having lots of
other things out at the same time. Make sure your child packs away the game they
have finished with before moving on to the next activity.
Provide the opportunity for your child to experiment with lots of fun, hands-on, creative
activities such as drawing with pencils/crayons/in shaving foam, painting, papier
mache, and other craft activities.
Get your childs attention in interesting ways, e.g. call their name with a more sing-song
intonation.
When giving your child an instruction, it helps to get down to their level, make sure
theyre giving you eye contact, then give the instruction slowly and purposefully. If there
are several parts to the instruction, pause before saying the next part. You may
sometimes ask your child to say back to you what they have to do to ensure that they
have understood. Alternatively, you could ask them questions such as So what do you
need to do first? And then?
Give your child praise for appropriate behaviour children will stay on task longer if feel
comfortable and successful in what they are doing.
Ensure your child eats a balanced diet, especially at breakfast.
Make sure your child gets plenty of exercise research suggests that physical activity
may increase a childs cognitive control or ability to pay attention and also results in
better performance on academic achievement tests.
Limit the amount of TV and video games your child accesses (this includes using iPads
etc). It is suggested that frequent changes of camera and focus may actually program
a short attention span. TV advertisers capture a viewers attention by capitalising on the
brains instinctive responses to danger through the use of sudden noises, close-ups,
pans, zooms and bright colours, and this may be reducing your child's natural ability to
remain actively focused on events in the real world. TV and video games also take
children away from activities that are more active, multisensory, and intellectually,
socially and emotionally nourishing.
For adult-led activities or those that are less motivating for your child, using visuals such
as a sand timer to show how long they need to concentrate for can be helpful.
Model self-help strategies during everyday play situations by using phrases such as Now
where do I begin?" or Try it again as a prompt for self control and perseverance.
Although its usually best to limit background noise and distractions, some children can
actually focus better or for longer with some quiet music on in the background.
Experiment with different genres of music e.g. classical, fast paced rock music, The
Wiggles etc.
Audiobooks can be a fun way to motivate your child to listen for longer periods of time.