Average Attention Span
in Children

Have you ever wondered why the average attention span in children is so limited . . . why your little one can't stick with anything for more than a nanosecond? Well, much of that is just typical young child; however, did you know that reading to your little ones helps to develop the average attention span in children and the ability to concentrate at length?

Reading to young children encourages them to sit down and focus as they listen to a story . . . to sit down and focus as they look at the pictures . . . to sit down and focus as they follow the story being read to them. The average attention span in children, and their ability to concentrate at length, develops gradually over time as you continue to read and as the books you read grow in length and detail. This development continues as your child grows and becomes an independent reader as well. This is why it is so important to make reading a part of your daily routine.

Skills can only develop if they are practiced, and reading to your child gives her the ability to practice focusing and developing her attention span. And . . . having the ability to stick with a task and finish it through to completion is a necessary and invaluable skill to have as your child grows older, not only for academic success but also for future success in general.

Did you know that watching too much TV will have a detrimental effect on the average attention span in children, and on their ability to concentrate at length? TV is a constantly changing medium that jumps from one topic to another in hopes of gaining and retaining viewership. Add in a couple of commercials and you're lucky if any one, continuous, focused stream of thought stays the same for more than a couple of minutes! Yes, minutes!

Throw in the remote control on top of that, where viewers flip from station to station, and your continuous and focused stream of thought is reduced from a couple of minutes to mere seconds. And we wonder why the average attention span in children is so short. How can we possibly expect our children to focus and stick with anything when TV reinforces immediate gratification?

It is important to remember here that TV isn't the problem - it is the amount of TV that children watch that is the problem.

So, make a point to read a book together . . .

    . . . often . . .

       . . . daily, if possible . . .

          . . . and help your child develop her attention span and the concentration skills she needs to perform and to succeed.

"A man who does not read good
books has no advantage over the
man who cannot read them."
-- Mark Twain

Average Attention Spanin Children

Average Attention Span
in Children