Help your child focus better with these four easy steps
Steps are outlined below this video,
video is a more in depth description.
Watch with the EYES
Have you ever caught yourself trying to listen to someone while looking at something else and been torn? Realizing that you just lost track of either one of them? Frustrating and overwhelming it can be. For both you and your child.
It's the same for children, helping them pay attention to where they are looking while they listen can be helpful, if it is too easy to get visually distracted, have them close their eyes and imagine they are looking at you while they listen.
Listen with the EARS
This is the part most people focus on, and truly, one of the easiest parts of focus. It really is as simple as listening, which is made much easier by practicing the other steps.
Think with the MIND
Make sure that you are imagining and thinking about the thing that you are looking at and listening too. This connects you in a way to the moment that makes you more present as a parent.
For children, ask them questions about what they think or see in their mind from time to time as you speak. Tell them you are going to tell them something, and you want them to listen, watch, and tell you back what they THINK.
Then don't be critical of what they think, the whole point is just to get them to think about what you are saying in some form or fashion. Giving you as a parent a great place to start!
Do the right thing with the BODY
Take action on what you heard, this is where we talk with children about doing the thing they were told to do, and know they need to do.
Sometimes, especially for parents, it can also mean actively doing things for those around us that let them know that we not only heard them, but care about what they had to say.
Follow those four steps yourself and you might be amazed at how much you can improve your own focus.
Break it down like that for your children, consistently & repetitively when an example of a breakdown in the four steps occurs, and it truly will amaze you.
Focus
Overview: Focus is about paying attention, sounds simple, but there is a lot more to paying attention than we first realize. The four elements of an action with optimal focus are, “Eyes, Ears, Mind and Body”.
By definition that means, “Look with your eyes, listen with your ears, think with your mind and do the right thing with your body.”
Any act or action involves these four elements. For example, when you ride a bike, you have to look where you are going, listen for traffic noise, think about balancing, steering and pedaling, and make sure your body executes those tasks optimally. Focus is the single most important life skill because it is the foundation of other life skills such as balance, discipline and control. The foundation of focus, first and foremost, begins with good eye contact. Studies have proven that if you look with your eyes, you will hear better, understand better and retain information longer.
Focus is awesome because it helps you do things better. It helps you cross the street safely, ride a bike and enjoy a movie without missing the best parts. It helps you learn and helps you avoid bad situations. If you have great focus, you'll understand better what a teacher is teaching and doing your homework will be easier. The four parts of excellent focus are; look, listen, think and do the right thing with your body.
So always look at your parents when they are talking to you. Listen to your teachers when they are teaching you. Think about what you are doing when you practice your arts. Do the right thing with your body by balancing when riding a bike. Focus also builds your confidence. When you are focused you do things better. And feeling good about yourself is called confidence. There are different levels of focus as well, such as ‘hyper focus’, where you tune everything out but that one thing, a struggle many with ADHD face. As well as “mushin” or no mind, where you relax your focus to let your body and brain take in more of what is going on around you in the big picture.
Parent: Focus is probably the single most important life skill your child will ever learn. It is the foundation of many other life skills such as discipline, control and balance. Focus plays a key role in your child’s learning experience. It will increase their attention span so they may learn, understand and retain information better. Focus enables your child to be a better learner. Be mindful that no one is born smart. You become smart by being a good learner and the key to being a good learner is optimal focus. Studies have proven that children with great focus do better in school. At home, focus will help your child be a better listener and do things faster when asked. Focus will help your child to stay on the path of achieving their goals, thus increasing their confidence in the process. Always encourage your child to make good eye contact when speaking and being spoken to. Not only does it build their focus, it shows respect and good manners.