Five Games to Improve Concentration and Attention Span in Children

Concentration is a skill that children tend to lack. Continuous instances of inattention often worry parents, bringing to mind common learning disorders like ADD and ADHD. A child who forgets to focus on the instructions or doesn't sit still long enough to hear them in the first place may cause concern, but medication shouldn't be the initial reaction, especially if you've never tried other options to improve concentration.

Like most things, inattention can be worked on through practice in children where attention deficit isn't present, and when it comes to children, they respond best to fun. Before you take the medical route, try these five games for improving your child's attention span.

1. Memory Games - In order for something to be committed to memory, attention must first be given and held. This is why memory games help build focus in young children. The popular children's game Memory is a good example, but there are other memory building games you can play with objects around the house.

If you have a deck of cards, pick five cards from the deck and ask your child to focus and remember them. After he says he's ready, take the cards, shuffle the deck, and have him find the five cards from before. If this is too easy, have him put them in the correct order as well or add a card or two. If it's too difficult, limit the game to one or two suits. Other objects that work for this game include coins and buttons.

2. Hidden Object Games- These types of games encourage your child to notice things she may otherwise ignore. It requires concentration and comprehension to discover whatever it is she's trying to find, and many children find these fun, like they're detectives trying to solve a mystery. Here are some examples:

Word Searches

I-Spy (A common road trip game)

Where's Waldo Books

Computer Games like Mystery PI

"Easter Egg" Hunts (Hiding objects that result in a small reward when collected entirely)

3. Word Games- These games not only build attention, but they are also great ways to improve your child's vocabulary and spelling skills. Plus, you don't usually need anything to play these games since they're verbally based. Saying one word and having your child rhyme the word is a good example.

My daughter's favorite is the word tag game. To play, you pick a category (animals, foods, etc.) and say a word in that category. The next person must then think of a word that begins with the last letter of the word that was said before.

For instance, let's say the category was places; if I say France, you'd have to think of a place that began with E, the last letter in France. Egypt would be a good answer.

4. Story Based Games- These games require your child to pay attention to the details of a story. While reading to your child, you can pull a pop quiz and ask a question about something that happened earlier in the tale. Eventually he should start habitually listening and remembering at story time, especially if you make the game fun.

Another easy game is the Continue the Story game. You start a story and stop after a paragraph or so; then your child should add on to the story, making sure to keep the tale somewhat logical. Then you both alternate adding to the story until you decide on a conclusion.

5. Puzzles- Puzzles are generally considered great brain exercises, and because they're both fun and require focus and patience, children with attention problems typically respond well to them. Puzzles include the following:

Picture puzzles

Crossword puzzles

Mahjong

Sudoku

While puzzles are great concentration building tools, parents should be sure the puzzle they choose is age appropriate or they may cause frustration, resulting in the opposite effect. In other words, don't hand your five-year-old a Rubik's Cube and expect it to hold her attention.