Kids are great fun, inquisitive, and they are always working to challenge you no matter what. It is important to remember that children are children; they get distracted, forget things, and are not going to be able to sit down and focus completely on any one task for a super long amount of time. There are a few ways that you can increase your children’s attention span, and we want to help.
How Long Can My Toddler Pay Attention?
The average attention span of a three-year-old is about 6 to 9 minutes. If you think about that time span, that is not very long, and they are not likely to be able to get any sort of real task done. The average attention span is about 8 to 12 minutes for a four-year-old. This is a little better, but still not a ton of time to get any task done. For a five-year-old, the average attention span is about 10 to 15 minutes. That is why children normally do not start school until about five years of age.
You can conservatively add about 2 to 3 minutes for every year of age after that to figure out what a reasonable amount of focus you can expect from your child. You do need to keep in mind, however, that all children are different. One child may be able to focus for hours while another can hardly hold on to any one task for more than a minute.
Toddler Activities That Help Increasing Child Attention Span
One of the best things you can do to help increase the attention span of a child is to take the time to make sure you are choosing games and choosing activities that require the child to focus for them to be successful. Choose games that are fun and require your child to pay attention to what you are doing.
Another activity that you might want to try is one that has a satisfying end result. Children are more likely to really focus and devote their attention if they will get an end result out of it. Puzzles are a great option, and they offer your child a chance to focus and see the finished product when they complete the puzzle.
It is also important that you take the time to give kids breaks. Though you might be tempted to make your child sit through a full activity, it might be better to allow them to do some things, then get up and move around to refocus their attention and get back to what they were doing. It is always best to take the time to really let your child be themselves. See what cues they are giving you and then work with them to create a system that works for you and your child.