How to develop perseverance in a child aged 5-7 years: exercises, activities

Modern parents are often faced with the phenomenon of child restlessness - it is difficult to keep him in place for a long time.

Of course, this negatively affects academic performance in general, and in particular the quality of learning material.

How to develop perseverance and attentiveness in a child?

What is perseverance and why develop it?

Perseverance is the ability to focus on a specific activity for the required amount of time. This is a very important quality for any person, and it is by no means given at birth. Perseverance needs to be developed. Without it, it is impossible to raise a responsible and disciplined person.

The first problems begin to appear already at the beginning of school - a restless child is not able to concentrate his attention throughout the entire lesson, and naturally it is difficult for him to study. For this reason, the development of perseverance should begin in early preschool age, especially since no one can quickly instill these qualities - this is a long and gradual process.

Reference! According to accepted standards, the ability to concentrate for a long time varies depending on age. Children 4-5 years old can remain attentive and focused for no more than 30 minutes at a time; at 5-7 years old this figure increases to 40 minutes.

Thus, when planning to develop perseverance in a child, you need to take into account his age, as well as his temperament and reaction speed. Melancholic children can remain in place for a longer time and perform monotonous actions, but choleric children find it more difficult to do this, so they need to develop perseverance in a different way.

If parents notice that their child cannot do the same thing for a long time, he often leaves things he started unfinished, gets distracted all the time and switches to other activities - he should be shown to a neurologist or psychologist. This behavior is often observed in ADHD, and hyperactive children almost always have problems with attention and perseverance.

Reasons for restlessness:

Immaturity of the nervous system - brain damage, stem cells, nerve fibers are at a stage of their development when long-term exercise is impossible.
Developmental anomalies - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, dyslexia, speech delay, dysgraphia.
Depression is a child’s condition that can be recognized by fears, increased anxiety, and whims.
Poor nutrition - for normal brain function, a child simply does not have enough vitamins and microelements.
Lack of cognitive motivation - the child is simply not interested in completing any tasks.
Pedagogical neglect - if parents do not engage with their child from the first year of life, his brain will not be able to develop for learning by school age. TV and cartoons cannot develop the brain; on the contrary, it negatively affects the child’s nervous system.

How to develop attentiveness in a child. How to improve the attention of children 7–10 years old

Small volume, insufficient selectivity, undeveloped switchability and stability of attention are shortcomings that can be eliminated thanks to special exercises included in the educational process. To improve the attention of a child 7–10 years old, it is necessary to use two types of exercises:

special exercises to develop the basic properties of attention (stability, distribution, concentration); exercises that form attention as a personal property.

Inattention is the result of children focusing on the general rather than the specific. While grasping the general meaning of a story, the essence of a statement or a mathematical problem, children do not delve into the details and do not take into account important elements.

The purpose of specialized exercises is to teach the child to perceive details against a general background.

Developing the attention of younger schoolchildren, when properly organized, develops into attentiveness - an integral feature of a successful person

It is important to explain this to children, convincing them of how necessary observation is, the ability to look for shortcomings, compare, and see changes. Tell your children that thoughtful people always have a goal and easily achieve it.

By forming a daily routine together with your child, you will teach him to pay attention to important events in combination and separately. By gradually developing an action plan, you will teach the student to concentrate on details

Equally effective for improving children’s attention are exercises with paired control, when neighbors at a desk exchange the results of their work and look for each other’s mistakes. Seeing the failures and shortcomings of others, children learn from the mistakes of others, being more attentive to their own work and its results.

You can improve a child’s attention by teaching her discipline, responsibility and accuracy. Attentive children are collected children who take care of things and know how to take care of loved ones and themselves

Do you want to make your child responsible and attentive? Get a pet and entrust the student with caring for it.

Exercises and activities

To begin with, it will be useful for parents to learn the following recommendations:

The child must follow a daily routine, as this is the basis of everything. Experts recommend allowing your child to sleep 8-10 hours a day. Moreover, a couple of hours before bedtime, do not allow your child to play on the computer, watch TV, and so on. The best option is a walk in the air, reading a book, drawing.
Maintain proper nutrition.
Teach your child that he has not only rights, but also responsibilities. The child should help with household chores - this will allow him not only to improve perseverance, but also to feel needed.
To train perseverance, you need to use gameplay.
Do more creative work with your child.

As already mentioned, developing perseverance is a long process that will require maximum patience from adults. In the first month, you can spend 5-10 minutes a day , and if within a month the slightest progress is not noticeable in the child’s behavior, drastic changes will need to be introduced into classes after consultation with a psychologist.

Do not force your child to do any particular activity; let him choose what he likes best.

Important! Monitor the changes and be sure to celebrate your child’s successes, praise him, support him, and if necessary, take breaks from classes.

What classes do specialists offer?

Drawing. Children of all ages love to draw. At first, let the child draw what he wants, but over time you need to come up with themes for the drawing and ensure that the child completes the picture. Coloring requires even more passion and concentration. Coloring books, of course, need to be selected in accordance with the interests of the child. You can also invite your child to draw using different techniques - drawing with palms, cotton swabs, salt, candles, drawing in the sand (in accordance with the child’s age, of course).
Puzzles. From the age of 2, you can let your child assemble puzzles of 4-6 parts. By the age of 5, a child can already cope with a picture of 54 parts. The theme of the picture should again correspond to the interests of the child.
Mosaic. Mosaic games require even more perseverance. The details are usually small, and there are also some peculiarities in creating the image. At first, you can ask the child to lay out colored, plain, wavy lines, then start laying out pictures, gradually complicating them.
Crafts. For this activity, you can use any available materials, the main thing is that there is a twist in the process that will interest the child.
Fairy tales with continuation. Tell your child stories in parts over several days. Of course, the plot should be exciting and unpredictable. The story should always be stopped at the most interesting point, and continued only the next day.
Game "Find the differences". A very exciting and useful activity that can be done not only from paper, but also on the computer. To make it easier and more interesting for your child to play it, you need to write down the number of differences in numbers, and when the difference is found, cross out the corresponding number. This way the child will clearly see that he is coping, and this will give him confidence.
Sorting small items. Glass pebbles, beads, and cereals are suitable. This exercise is extremely useful for eye, fine motor skills and perseverance. It is interesting to sort beads not only by size, but also by color and shape.

Teaching a child to be attentive and persevering is a fun activity. During the game, you can not only help your child become more attentive, but also reveal his individual abilities.

How to keep your baby healthy

A newborn seems so tiny and helpless that you want to do everything possible to protect him from any dangers and illnesses. Follow our advice and let your kids grow up healthy and strong.

Try to establish breastfeeding

Mother's milk is the best remedy for preventing diseases in a child, a magic formula that nature itself gave us to protect the baby. Scientists have proven that breastfed babies are not only less susceptible to viral diseases, but also less likely to suffer from various allergic reactions in the future (according to a 2015 study by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology). If breastfeeding had to be canceled for some reason, choose the formula responsibly - trust only trusted manufacturers.

Watch your diet

It is very important that breast milk does not contain any harmful components that can weaken the baby’s immunity, causing an allergic reaction or even poisoning. To do this, follow the recommendations of experts on proper nutrition for your mother.

Avoid contact with infection

Before the baby comes into the house, it is advisable that all household members visit a doctor and be examined for possible infections. It is recommended not only to take blood tests, but also to do fluorography to rule out suspicion of tuberculosis. This disease can occur in a latent form, but for the baby it poses a life-threatening threat. In the first weeks after birth, of course, all relatives and friends are eager to see the baby, but doctors still advise sticking to quarantine

This is important not only for the newborn, but also for the mother, who now needs rest. When receiving guests, do not hesitate to ask them in advance about their well-being and health.

Explain that this is a requirement of pediatricians: people undergoing treatment for infectious diseases or suspecting they have a viral infection should not be in a house where there is a baby.

Don't overheat your baby

Try to ventilate the room more often, do not wrap the baby up.

The optimal temperature in a children's room is 18 – 19 °C, and it definitely should not be higher than 22 °C;
The child's sweat glands are poorly developed, and the metabolism is very active. Even with a slight lack of fluid, he becomes hot, which leads to discomfort, redness of the skin, and prickly heat. Therefore, when it is hot, it is recommended to supplement the baby with water;
Make sure that the diaper does not cause the baby to overheat, especially in hot weather. If the skin underneath is red, you need to help the baby cool down and it is advisable to get rid of the diaper for a while.

If the room is not too cold, leave him to lie for a while without a diaper or clothes. Get outdoors. And do not accustom your baby to bathing in water that is too hot - above 37 - 38 °C.

Follow the emotional background

The journal Parenting Science cites research from 2011, the results of which say: the less stress a baby is exposed to under the age of one, the lower his risk of acquiring metabolic syndrome (a whole range of disorders associated with hormonal metabolism and nutritional disorders) in the future. And this is not the only disease that is caused by excessive production of the stress hormone cortisol by the small body. You should also be wary of the occurrence of inflammatory, infectious processes and even a decrease in the speed of development of mental reactions (research from the University of British Columbia in 2011). Therefore, try to maintain a calm atmosphere in the family as much as possible.

Give yourself a break

The bond between mother and baby in the first six months of his life is so strong that any disturbances in your physical or emotional state immediately affect the behavior and well-being of the baby. Therefore, rest, taking care of your own health - even at the expense of household affairs - is a necessity for you. Don’t miss a minute to sleep during the day to make up for the lack of sleep at night, don’t forget to eat right and drink plenty of water and fresh juices, devote time to your favorite pastime and communicate with friends - at least by phone or via the Internet.

Let your care for your baby ensure his good health!