40 Fun Activities to Improve Kid’s Focus and Attention

Manage Your Chaos participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

Helpful activities to improve kid’s focus and attention.

It’s no secret that kids today have shorter attention spans than ever before.

A National Center for Biotechnology Information report found that the average attention span in 2015 was just eight seconds, which was down from 12 seconds in 2000.

While many factors contribute to this trend, one of the most significant is the increased use of technology.

With constant stimulation just a click away, it’s no wonder that it affects your child’s concentration.

Here are 40 activities to help improve your child’s ability to focus and short attention spans!

Importance of Developing a Good Attention Span

Being able to pay attention is essential for school, work, and carrying out everyday tasks.

Children with attention problems have more difficulty completing schoolwork. They also have difficulty following rules and instructions.

This makes the child more likely to have issues with academics and behavior. But there are things you can do to help your child focus.

A child’s ability to concentrate depends on many things, including:

• age
• temperament
• motivation
• fatigue level
• distractions in the environment

You can help your child pay attention by providing structure at home and support at school.

For example, break down tasks into small steps, provide frequent reminders and praise your child when they demonstrate good concentration skills. 

Tips to Increase your Child’s Concentration

Getting your child to sit still and focus on a task can be a challenging experience. However, you can do a few things to help increase your child’s concentration and attention span.

• One way to improve focus is to provide regular breaks. Take a break when your child is stuck on a particular task.
  
• You can also help increase concentration by breaking tasks down into smaller goals. For example, start with one small area, such as the desk, rather than asking your child to clean their entire room.
  
• Finally, make sure the environment is best for learning. A quiet space with minimal distractions will help your child stay on task more quickly than a chaotic environment. 

Best Activities to Improve Kid’s Focus and Attention

Memory Games

Memory games can be a great option to improve focus and attention in kids.

By having them match objects, remember sequences, or recall facts, they are using their brains in a way that helps them to pay attention better. Not only that, but memory games are also fun! 

Here are a few fun memory games:

Disney Princess Matching Game

This is an easy-to-learn game that helps your princess-loving child with focus, memory, and matching skills!

Marvel Matching Game

This is similar to the Disney Princess matching game but for you marvel-loving child! This will also help your child with focus, memory, and matching skills.

Never Forget a Face Memory and Matching Game

This game will help your child with concentration and memory skills.

Life on Earth Memory and Matching Game

This game is similar to the other matching games above. I love this one because it centers around colorful illustrations of flora, fauna, animals, leaves, birds, fish, and more.

Puzzles

A number of simple activities can help improve focus and attention in kids. One of the most effective is puzzles.

A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that puzzles can help improve children’s cognitive function.

The study found that puzzles activate different brain parts responsible for problem-solving and the executive process.

As a result, puzzles can help kids to develop essential thinking and planning skills. In addition, puzzles can help improve visual-spatial perception and working memory.

Here are a few puzzles we love that are educational as well as help your child with concentration.

World Map Jigsaw Puzzle

This is a 100-piece puzzle for kids ages 4-8. Not only does it help with concentration, but depicts the geographical features of:

• 43 countries
• 49 landmarks
• 41 animals and plants
• 39 historical features and customs
• and much more

This is a terrific geography learning tool.

Melissa & Doug Underwater Ocean Floor Puzzle

This is a 48-piece floor puzzle that replicates an ocean floor with stingrays, dolphins, sharks, colorful fish, and orcas. For ages 3-6.

Solar System & Space Exploration Jigsaw Puzzle

For kids eight and up. Excellent for learning more about planets, the moon and sun, galaxies, nebulas, and spacecraft.

101 Fun Crossword Puzzles for Kids

Word puzzles can help your child improve their vocabulary and critical thinking skills.

Board Games

Contrary to popular belief, board games can help improve your child’s concentration.

This is because they require players to think strategically and plan. They are also paying close attention to the game board and the actions of other players at the same time.

As a result, board games can help to develop essential cognitive skills. Check out some of the best board games we love to help with these important skills:

Monopoly Junior Board Game

Story Time Chess Game

This game won the 2021 Toy of the Year Award. It is perfect for beginners and makes the game of chess come alive for young children.

Jumbo Checkers Game

This is a jumbo-size checker game on a reversible rug with Tic Tac Toe on the other side. What a fun way to learn the game of checkers!

More Fun Activities

Simon Says

This classic game requires players to pay close attention and follow directions quickly, which can help sharpen focus and attention skills.

“Simon Says” is a fun and active game that kids will surely enjoy. 

I Spy

The I Spy game is a classic way to improve focus and attention in kids. The game’s object is to find a hidden object, and the challenge is to pay close attention to your surroundings to find it.

This can be an excellent way to help kids learn how to focus their attention and block out distractions.

Playing I Spy can also help kids to develop their observational skills. To be successful in the game, they need to be able to notice small details and remember where they saw them.

Boggle

Boggle is a great game because you are working under time limits to write down as many words as possible.

This will significantly improve your child’s concentration while having a lot of fun. Boggle is our family’s favorite game!

Logic games

Logic Puzzles For Clever Kids

For kids ages 4-6. It includes more than 50 brain games, including sequencing, patterns, analogies, and inferences.

Wooden Blocks Puzzle Brain Teasers

This super fun tangram brain teaser puzzle will challenge your child as they mix up the pieces to create different shapes. Kids love this!

Blue Orange Dr. Eureka Speed Logic Game

This is an Astra Best Toy for Kids Winner. It is a lot of fun as well as helping your child with these skills:

• Visual perception
• Focus and attention
• Problem-solving
• Fine motor skills
• Processing speed
• Pattern recognition
• Color matching

The players each get a set of measuring cylinders and three pairs of colored molecules (balls). A card is flipped from the deck.

Players race to match the molecules in their cylinders to what is shown on the card. The first player that completes it correctly and shouts “eureka!” will get the card.

You can follow the rules or modify them for younger players. 

More Games to Increase Focus

Skillmatics Educational Game: Search and Find

This is an excellent game activity game that develops observation and logical reasoning skills.

Spot It! Classic Card Game

This is a perfect game that helps your child develop focus. It is fast to learn and fun to play!

Fine Motor Skills to Help Concentration

• Stringing beads
• Painting with chopsticks or Q-tips
• Playing with putty or play-doh
• Sorting and organizing activities such as sorting coins or buttons
• Coloring
• Origami
• Simple sewing activities (17 Simple Sewing Projects for Kids to Make)

Daily Activities to Help Cognitive Skills

Most kids don’t naturally have great focus or attention. That’s why parents and caregivers need to help them develop these skills.

Many everyday activities can improve focus and concentration in kids. Here are some great ideas:

• Reading (personal and read aloud)
• Puzzles
• Painting
• Outdoor play
• Regular exercise
• Playing an instrument
• Having a daily, predictable routine
• Limit screen time
• Give your child plenty of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Cooking to Increase Focus in Children

The act of measuring ingredients, following a recipe, and paying attention to timing can help children learn to focus on a task and see it through to completion.

Additionally, cooking can also be a calming activity. The repetitive nature of chopping vegetables or stirring a pot can help to clear the mind and ease anxiety.

As a result, children who participate in cooking activities may find it easier to focus on other tasks throughout the day.

Physical Activity Ideas to Help Concentration

Did you know that exercise can improve mental focus? Studies have shown that physically active children tend to have better concentration and attention span than inactive children.

One theory is that exercise increases blood flow to the brain, providing it with more oxygen and nutrients.

Physical activity can be the best way to improve brain function and mental alertness.

Another possibility is that exercise helps to release chemicals like dopamine and endorphins, which can boost mood and cognitive performance.

Whatever the mechanism, there’s no doubt that physical activity can benefit children’s mental focus. So get up and get your kids moving!

• Brisk walk
• Bike riding
• Playground
• Family hike
• Playing tag outside
• Getting involved in organized sports will also help with social skills
• Martial arts

Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can have trouble focusing on tasks and may become easily distracted.

However, several activities can help increase focus and your child’s attention span. One helpful activity is to provide children with a specific task or goal to focus on.

This activity could be as simple as asking them to count the number of cars that pass by in a certain amount of time.

Breaking down a larger task into smaller goals can also be helpful, allowing children to see their progress and what they have accomplished.

Additionally, providing children with opportunities to move around and release excess energy can help them to stay focused and avoid feeling restless.

Jumping on a trampoline or playing catch are ideal for this purpose. With a little trial and error, it is possible to find activities that help increase focus and attention span in children with ADHD.

Go to 10 Simple Concentration and Focus Building Techniques for Kids with ADHD for further reading.

Final Thoughts

Attention spans are so short these days, which makes it more important for kids to have activities that help improve their focus and attention.

The 40 activities we’ve listed should help get your kid on the right path.

Do you have any favorite activities that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments!

Please visit my About Me Page to learn more about my crew and me.