Enhancing concentration in kids

An alert state of mind and a good motivation are inevitable in boosting concentration and eventually a good mental capability. There are two stages to concentrating. First, you need to banish distraction and clutter. This involves discipline and time management. Most children feel more calm and alert in the day. If this is true, utilize this time for tackling brain jobs. Clear your mind and choose a comfortable, calm place to start off. The first time you sit down to study - it is a warm-up time; so you won't be at peak concentration. You would need about 10-15 minutes to shut out all distractions before concentrating well. As you progress, the concentrations starts diminishing. Ensure that you make a commitment to finish one more paragraph before taking a break. Then take a break and relax yourself . You can leave the study area for a break but do not stretch too long or you will need another warm-up session when you continue with your studying!

The second stage is to take care of your attention. Research has shown that when you pay attention to something the parts of the brain processing information becomes more effective. Attention span varies from an individual to another. Try to look out or calculate your attention span. Say if you are able to read 15 minutes without distraction, then 15 minutes is your reading span. Now see if you can read for 20 minutes continuously without being distracted. This way you can analyse your time and increase the attention span accordingly. This is the best way to increase the attention span.

An important aspect that i would like to address in this aspect of concentration is that never listen to pop, drums or any fast track music while reading as this could disastrously lead to poor concentration. Many children do argue that they have fared better listening to music. But this would not be helpful in the long run because listening to fast beats makes the mind very brisk but for the mind to be peak in concentration, it needs to be calm, and relaxed. So put these into practice and concentrate!

Listening skill

Listening is a smart strategy that enhances one’s personality. When we talk, we repeat what we already know; but when we listen, we often learn something. By the simple act of listening, you pick up other people’s good idea. Of course you should make a mental note not to use their sillier ones! Too many people go through life never really knowing what people around them think because they have simply never made the time to listen to them. Good speakers don’t always make the best listeners. But a speaker, who knows how to be a good listener, has a profound impact on his speeches. Moreover, they share more than their own experience. Here are some of the suggestions to improve your listening skills.

 

Maintain eye contact with the speaker whenever possible
Focus on what someone is saying, and not how they are saying it. It’s easy to get distracted by a distinctive accent, or voice.
Make sure that you are interested and that you are following what is being said by quiet acknowledging sounds.
Be patient and avoid jumping in with too many questions.
Check your understanding of what is being said time to time by repeating things back and encouraging the speaker to add more details.
Try to empathize.
Try not to make your mind wander. Stay active by asking yourself questions about what you are listening to.
Treat listening as a mental challenge and feel good because you are managing to achieve it.
During a conversation, wait for 2 seconds after the person finishes speaking to make sure that they have finished their thought.
Take a comfortable listening position. A good listener uses positive body language; leaning forward and showing an enthusiastic, relaxed nature.
Listen with openness. Be a supportive, but neutral listener.

Many successful leaders credit their success to effective listening skills. Effective listening is a skill that is one of the building blocks of success – so spend some time thinking about it and developing the same.