Helping Your Child Focus On What You Are Saying

One of our difficulties at our house is that my son will be looking at me when I am talking, but he will not hear me. He is zoned out or focused on something else other than my voice. Unfortunately, I am very familiar with this. I remember friends asking me if I heard them. My husband even sometimes says that he told me things that I just do not hear. So, yes, my son gets this from me!

Luckily, I know what works to help me focus or hear when someone is talking to me. These tips have worked with my son too.

1)       Touch- If you feel like your child is not listening, touch their arm. Touch automatically helps with focusing, so they can hear you better.

 

2)       Make eye contact- Get close to the child, move so you are on their level, and make sure they are really looking at you making eye contact. This will help them become aware of your presence.

 

3)       Form a hand signal- I use my fingers counting 1,2,3 while saying, “1,2,3 eyes on Mommy”.

 

4)       Create a visual- If asking your child to do something, create a visual of the tasks that you want them to complete. Make the visual simple with pictures or a few words.

 

5)       Take away distractions- If your child is having trouble focusing on you due to distraction like a video game, music, or television, turn them off or take them away. A quiet environment will help your child focus on what you are telling them.

Teaching your child these tips will help them learn how to be more intuitive to what is going on around them and the people talking to them. It will take practice, but it will really help them in the future with focusing and hearing what others are saying.