How to Increase Your Preschooler’s Attention Span

Preschooler’s are definitely not known for their ability to focus for long periods of time. In fact, preschooler’s shouldn’t be expected to focus on a single task for more than 15 minutes at one time. If your preschooler is struggling to maintain an appropriate level of focus, read these tips for how to improve your preschooler’s attention span.

DIET

Having a healthy diet can make or break your preschooler’s ability to focus. Lacking nutrients alone can affect your child’s concentration…add in the tummy rumbling and hunger pains and that’s all your preschooler will be focused on. Start your preschooler’s day off with a nutrient rich breakfast, and provide healthy snacks and meals throughout the day.

A healthy brain boosting diet should consist of:

• Fresh fruit
• Whole grains
• Lean meat
• Dairy
• Vegetables

It’s also important not to over eat before a task that requires focus. Being overly full can cause your preschooler to become lethargic, and eating processed and sugary foods may make your preschooler sick to their stomach. Making sure your preschooler is feeling their best will greatly improve their focus.

SLEEP

Lack of sleep can affect your preschooler’s ability to focus. It’s impossible to focus on a task when you can hardly hold your head up or keep your eyes open. When your preschooler tries to focus on something that their brains are too tired to focus on, they aren’t going to absorb any of the information.

Keep your preschooler alert, and give them their best chance at learning by making sure they get at least 10 hours of sleep every night.

EXERCISE

Exercise releases chemicals in the brain such as dopamine and serotonin which can improve concentration, and give your preschooler energy to get through their day. Make sure your preschooler does something every day that gets them up and moving, and gets their heart rate up.

As long as your preschooler’s heart rate is up, blood is pumping extra hard creating more oxygen flow to your preschooler’s brain. Having a healthy brain is important in developing an increased attention span, and absorbing information.

Visit Little Bins for Little Hands for some preschool friendly exercise ideas, have a dance party, or just let them run wild outside.

PRACTICE

You can help your preschooler improve their attention span with a little bit of practice. Here are some ways you can help:

Remove Distractions

When you want your preschooler to focus on a specific task, try removing distractions from the room, or going somewhere where there aren’t any distractions. Trying to get your preschooler to focus in a room full of their favorite toys may not be the best idea.

Have Movement Breaks

When working on an activity, your preschooler should be allowed to stop for movement breaks. Movement breaks are small periods of time your preschooler can jump around, dance, wiggle, and get all their energy out so they can refocus their minds and get back to concentrating on their activity.

Check out these fun Brain Break Activity Dice on Amazon and you’ll always have a way to get your preschooler moving.

Play Focus Games

You can play games with your preschooler that require concentration to help improve their attention span. Some things you can do with your preschooler that require focus are: