Helping Your Child with Attention and Focus: Ideas for the Home

Helping Your Child with Attention and Focus: Ideas for the Home

Helping Your Child with Attention and Focus: Ideas for the Home

  • Focus on certain behaviors and provide clear, consistent expectations, directions and limits. Children with attention problems need to know exactly what others expect from them. They do not perform well in ambiguous situations that don’t specify exactly what is expected and that require they read between the lines.
  • Set up an effective discipline system. Parents should learn proactive- not reactive – discipline methods that teach and reward appropriate behavior and respond to misbehavior with alternatives such as “time out” or loss of privileges. Try the POSITIVE before resorting to the NEGATIVE.
  • Help your child learn from his or her mistakes. At times, negative consequences will arise naturally out of a child’s behavior However, children with attention and focusing problems have difficulty making connection between their behavior and these consequences. Parents can help their child make these connections and learn from their mistakes.
  • Consider limiting the amount of time your child is allowed to spend engaging in activities (e.g., television programs, video games) that provide an excessive amount of visual and auditory stimulation. Some research has suggested that such activities “train the brain” to only be able to focus when there is a great deal of excitement/stimulation/etc., and that the brain needs to be trained to attend even when things aren’t so exciting. Instead of providing 10 toys for your child to choose from, teach them to use their imagination to play with one toy for a longer period of time. Or, cut TV time in half and require the rest of the time be spent reading a book or magazine of interest.
  • Organization around the house is key! Consider implementing the following for your child AND the rest of the family:
  • Ten minute pick-ups. Spend 10 minutes each night on a quick pick-up. Take a basket and go through the house quickly picking up and dropping things off where they belong.
  • Launch pad. Set up a small table by the door to the house. Each night, help your child put on the launch pad everything he or she will need to get out the door (quickly!) in the morning. A checklist can be included on the launch pad so that nothing is forgotten.
  • Use “over the door” hanging organizers with divided pouches to store items needed for homework (e.g., pencils, erasers, extra paper, calculator, pocket dictionary, etc.) so that when your child settles down to work on homework, they are not interrupted every time they need something.
  • Be a positive role model for your child. Let them observe you using a calendar or day planner, and explain to them strategies you use to stay organized.
  • Check out the following resources (all available at amazon.com) for additional info:
  • Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell
  • ADD – Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg
  • The ADD Answer: How to Help Your Child Now by Frank Lawlis