Focus on concentration: the best gifts parents can give

HELPING your child learn to concentrate is one of the greatest gifts you can give them, making life and school much easier for them. So says Marie Barrett, author of The Education Guide and founder of Marie Barrett Career Services.

“A child who can concentrate will be able to listen at school, follow instructions, participate in class activity, play with other children and follow given activities on their own and with others. Being able to concentrate helps their socialisation,” says Barrett, who believes parents need to consciously help children develop concentration.

“It’s not something you can suddenly enforce,” she says. “Ideally a child will develop their strongest powers of concentration between age one and three. But if they haven’t had periods of quiet or time alone without distraction, they can just get used to always having company and constantly doing.”