Types of attention worth preserving in children

It is extremely important to analyze what types of attention are the most difficult for our children in order to provide them with the appropriate support. Read our article today to find out more about it. Types of attention worth preserving in children.

In today's article, we'll show you the different types of attention in children that you should work on improving. Children who get distracted very easily may worry their parents a bit because attention problems prevent them from focusing on certain tasks.

This can lead to poor academic performance due to difficulty concentrating on school work.

Types of attention to identify in children

One of the most difficult functions our brain performs is the process of focusing attention. Below, we'll show you the different types of attention we know and how to connect them together. Knowing this will allow us to help our children depending on the area where they need it most.

Divisible note

When we talk about divided attention, we mean the brain's ability to direct it to several stimuli or tasks simultaneously, thereby responding to different environmental demands. For example, it will be copying from the blackboard while listening to the teacher.

Alternating note

Alternating attention refers to the ability with which we must shift our focus from one task or stimulus to another. And what's more, to do it easily and quickly.

For example, while doing homework, someone calls the child to ask about something. He picks up the phone and, after finishing the conversation, easily continues our previous task.

Selective attention

It is also called focused attention. It refers to the ability to focus our mind on a specific task or stimulus, even when other distracting environmental factors are also present in our environment. For example, reading a textbook.

Continuous attention

Continuous attention is the ability to keep it there over time. For example, when we study, we focus on our notes for a long time.

Must Read: How can you help your child reduce learning stress?

How does our attention work?

The various types of comments mentioned above are not exhaustive. There are more types of them that can be combined with each other in various situations. These are for example:

• Visual and auditory attention. These types of attention are connected with others especially when we consider the sensory modality.
• Note open. When we focus on a specific source.
• Hidden attention. When we do something, but really focus on something else. These two types of attention are mainly found in the motor domain.
• Voluntary attention. We deal with it when we consciously direct our attention to something.
• Involuntary attention. When we don't consciously direct our attention to something. The latter two types of attention arise when we focus, for example, on the appearance of the person we meet.

Now that we have covered some of the types of attention that can occur and how they combine, it should also be noted that the ability to focus develops as children grow up. In addition, attention also depends on other factors such as the child's motivation, environment, the way the child works, etc.

Types of attention to be strengthened if children are very distracted

We have already discussed the different types of attention, which was important because we cannot talk about it if we do not know what exactly we are referring to. Usually, when parents worry about their children who are very distracted very easily, we focus mainly on their constant and selective attention, not realizing that other types of attention are also important, such as alternating.

Let's look at the following example: focusing on the text will not be effective if the child cannot read it and work on it at the same time. Efforts should be made to correct this inflexibility as it can be a very problematic issue when one wants to do more complex tasks, such as homework.

Another type of attention that is very important in addition to continuous and selective attention is divisible attention, as it is essential in our daily lives. Without such divisibility, we would not be able to prepare a glass of milk and spread on slices of bread at the same time.

For this reason, all kinds of attention are important and should be worked on in children who are easily distracted.

Even so, it is true that while prolonged and selective attention is easiest to identify for parents who are concerned about the degree of distraction of their child, in fact they all need to be worked on.

The types of attention to work on in children who are easily distracted ...

As we have seen, there are many types of attention. With children who are very distracted very easily, it is imperative to detect what kind of attention they are really having difficulty with. And only then work on them and strengthen them.

Thanks to the information we now have, we can identify our children's problems with attention and work on them through various activities. We can also contact a professional if we are unable to solve this difficulty, so that he can teach us how to solve it and correct it.