Concentration is a habit that can be trained, learnt and nurtured.  According to statistics, the concentration span lasts 3-5 minutes for three-year-old children, 10 minutes for four-year-olds and only 15 minutes for five- to six-year-olds.  Rest assured, however, that children’s concentration could be trained at a young age.  Here are a few practical ways to train it effectively.

1.  Create a simple and quiet living environment for your kids.  Never convey too many messages to them at a time.  For example, when you give them toys, just try to give one at a time instead of many. 

2.  Give your kid the space to think and explore things independently.  Do not interrupt his thinking easily.  For example, when your kids get new toys, don't immediately explain the toys to your kids - let the kids explore them first.  It is not advisable to interrupt or ask many questions when your kids are concentrating on one thing, as it would destroy their golden opportunity to practice concentration.

3.  One of the most important reasons for poor concentration is often a lack of self-control.  Practicing on the piano, drawing and writing Chinese calligraphy are some good ways for children to improve in this area.

4.  Games involving both the hands and the brain can train children’s ability to attend to the deeper meanings of matters.  Knitting, puzzle games and assembling Lego bricks are games that are effective for training children’s concentration. 

5.  You can nurture children’s ability to see matters in a broad view by playing guessing games with them.  Try putting toy cars, balls, pencils etc in front of your kid and let him observe the objects for a few seconds.  Then make him close his eyes while you take away a few objects.  Ask him what have gone missing.  This exercise can train your kid’s ability to scan objects quickly and see matters more broadly.

Try the above five ways and train your children’s concentration today!  Early trainings will bring benefits for your children’s future learning.