Why impulse control requires better attention skills.
Does your child call out in class, cry more easily than other children, have tantrums, and other outbursts? These are all signs of underdeveloped impulse control. Frequently these behaviors are addressed from a discipline or behavioral management perspective. What if it is actually executive function and self-regulation delays that are the culprit?
Attention is a strong indicator of a student’s success in the classroom and likelihood of completing college. Research also indicates that reading and math outcomes correlate with attention scores. Those children with a limited ability to pay attention struggle academically (and anecdotally, socially) over time even with tutoring and other interventions.
8 seconds. Multiple sites on the internet state that a teenager’s attention span is 8 seconds… and that the attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. Dig a little deeper and you find that this is an urban myth. (Just goes to show that you can’t believe everything on the internet… you have to know your sources.)
For both teachers and students, paying attention can be especially challenging during the coronavirus crisis as it upends what everyone is used to. It is a lot harder for students to pay attention on Zoom than during in-person classes (a distraction is only a click away) and teachers are still getting comfortable with the new way of teaching.
Our daughter struggled, with a capital S, in middle school. It made me remember the soul crushing awkwardness of that age, the confusion of higher expectations, the need for social acceptance, the loneliness of exclusion, the fear of being less-than. Yep! Middle school is hard for lots of people.
My child can’t stay focused in class.
The past year was difficult. We started the year doing pretty well and then things started to slip. Teachers called to say that assignments were missing, not once or twice but regularly. We tried punishments, no trip to the river if you don’t turn in your homework. There were tears and tantrums and in the end. Nothing short of constant supervision made an impact.