Attention span & Studying issues. How to help kids.

Why do children struggle so much in school? 

Children are absolutely tech savvy little geniuses, but they struggle in the classroom, not to mention studying issues. 

The answers are rather simplistic and not surprising. Children no longer have the attention spans required in the classroom and the focus they need to store new information. 

Why is this? Well if we think about what children do on a daily basis, it is constant social media, cellular phone games, computer games, TiKToc videos is a new major issue and the list continues... 

It all has to do with instant gratification, it is no longer about working hard for something and the elation you feel when you receive good marks for an exam, it is all about the pride they feel when they get a new follower or someone likes a post, they are seeking superficial validation as it gives the same endorphins as when you win at the roulette table, it becomes an addiction, which in turn consumes their young impressionable minds. 

Unfortunately, life has changed so much and parents are over whelmed by busy schedules, putting food on the table and roof over their heads, kids are becoming reliant on electronics to keep busy. 

This is not the fault of parents, yes many people point fingers and claim parents can do more, in some cases this may be true, but like everything in life not everyone is going through the exact same situation. Some parents have the extra time to dedicate to their kids, and others are on the verge of burning out and just don't have the time. 

Some solutions: Give your child incentive...

Giving your child responsibility is important, children need some responsibility outside of their daily scrolling. By doing this you taking time away from the screen, and giving them the opportunity to learn how to compartmentalise activities, it is a basic life skill they will need one day. 

Chores are important, no it is not child labour! Children like many will have an attitude problem if you tell them to clean their room, do the dishes or simply put away the jam and peanut butter, it doesn't mean that they should be let off the hook. It means they just need to learn how to be grateful that they have running water, an entire area that belongs to them and they have food to eat, how do you teach them gratitude? 

Here you have the perfect opportunity to teach them valuable lessons that won't only help with their gratitude problem but also their schooling problem, giving them chores and physical labour teaches them how to be present in the here and now, how it feels to complete a task on time (yes giving them time limits), is a great way for them learn time management and thinking for themselves and not to mention to trust themselves and their judgement. 

As an adult, how many times do you second guess your choices? In work and overall life? By giving your kids chores with time limits, you teaching them how to make choices, stick to them and back themselves, this skill will be important in exams as they get older. 

Reading: Yes reading is important, teaching your child how a book can capture their imagination is important, how they read the words and comprehend the script is the journey they can go on. Kids tend to read word for word and not hear the meaning of the words put together, they take each word and remember the meaning of that single word and miss the entire story they are holding. This is an area in need of assistance, children struggle to study and remember the work because they reading word for word, they don't understand that they only need to remember the facts involved not the whole paragraph, this over loads the brain, creates panic as they realise there is no way for them to remember all that work. In a nut shell, they need to learn how to summarise their material. 

Writing: Another important aspect to studying, once they can summarise their material, writing down only the bits of information they need is important, as this allows them to visually see the material in the text they need to remember and nothing else, this shows them the information they need to store is not as much as they first thought, helping them to bring their thought process to a less stressed state. 

There are many more amazing processes parents can use to assist their children, if you don't have time to keep them busy and off their phones, create other ways such as puzzles for their appropriate age group, this will allow them to think, improve their hand and eye coordination and forces them to concentrate for longer than a short video clip, which will help them increase their attention span over time. 

Written by Chantel Groenewald      29/11/2023