What You (Not School) Should Teach Your Children: Focus
We often point to the inadequacies of the school curriculum in providing children with life skills. The fast-paced and demanding world we live in requires more than textbook-based education. Parents are trying their best to prepare their kids for the future, but not everyone can afford private tutoring, coding classes, or other supplementary education.
Parents can teach some essential skills to their children. Schools may be one source of education, but parents also play a key role in raising independent and competent children. Below are some important life skills parents can teach their kids without spending money on after school clubs or activities. Every parent can teach these skills, so long as you are committed to helping your kids grow. One major life skill is the art of focusing.
Concentration: The Untaught Skill
As parents, we often tell and expect our kids to focus on something. We tell them to focus on finishing their vegetables and on their homework. You have probably heard the same during your childhood, but did anyone ever explain to you what it means to concentrate? Did you learn how to avoid distractions?
Most of us have not been taught how to really focus and weed out distractions, so we have no idea how to teach our kids to focus. Schools are unlikely to prioritize this skill in their curricula, so let’s take it upon ourselves to pass on the skill.
Dwindling Attention Spans in the Digital Age
We live in a time where millions of messages bombard our brains every second. Training ourselves to stay focused with all the distractions around us is tough, but if mastered, our kids will be well-equipped for life. The digital age has introduced near-constant stimulation and the ability to stay connected at all times, affecting our concentration. We used to poke fun at the goldfish’s 90-second attention span, but according to a Microsoft study, our own attention span is only 8 seconds on average. This is far shorter than the goldfish!
In these circumstances, people who know how to focus will get a competitive advantage in any discipline, both in their professional and personal lives.
The Neuroscience Behind Focus
When we stay focused on a task, object, or person without being distracted by other people and noises, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) experience reduced activity, allowing us to enter an optimal state of consciousness. This is commonly known as ‘flow’ state and the neuroscience term for it is ‘transient hypofrontality’. In this state, we are so focused that everything else disappears and we lose track of time. Tapping into the ‘flow’ state allows us to experience high productivity and unlock our creativity. Being in this state also helps us plan efficiently, think rationally, and make better decisions.
How can you tap into this state? It’s actually very simple. We can practice concentration by doing one task at a time. Focus fully on the activity you are doing or the person you are speaking to without shifting attention to anything else. It can be any daily task or interaction.
How to Teach Focus: An Example
Let’s say your son is doing his math homework. Suddenly, he starts telling you about a funny situation at school and then a field trip his science teacher organized for next week. His attention moves from his homework to a past event, then to a future event. Help your son focus by telling him you’d love to hear his stories after he finishes his math problems. You can explain to him he’ll finish his homework faster if he focuses fully on it. After he completes the work and tells you his stories, give him your full attention. Don’t check your email, do the dishes, or think about what to cook for dinner tomorrow while listening. Just listen. By modelling the behaviour to your child, you are showing him what being focused looks like in practice and encouraging him to do the same.
Focus as a Life Skill
By teaching your children to focus at one thing at a time, you help them perform better at school, sports, and other activities. Most importantly, you give them a critical skill for success as they grow into adults. If they can focus well, they can become highly productive and engaged employees, visionary entrepreneurs, and nurturing parents themselves.
At Green Schools Green Future, we aim to teach children how to lead healthy and sustainable lives by growing their own food, learning about sustainable habits. As we move toward building our first green school, we will create the next generation of eco-friendly leaders.
