Attention span

I have a 6 year old son who is very active, but can not stay focused on one particular thing. I belive he is too easily distracted.

My question is.. Are there some excercises that I can work with him on that will improve his awareness and attention span?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

To be frank, I think it is not helpful to attempt to alter this situation at home. It is the nature of young children to display somewhat limited attention. Is your son's capacity for sustaining attention outside the norm for his age? Perhaps. You will know better as he proceeds through the coming school year. Now, when he must sustain his attention (for example, to work his way through a homework assignment), some encouragement from you and removal of distractions (noise, movement, e.g.) can definitely help. Also, you can set a timer for, say, ten minutes, and have him work through that amount of time, take a brief break, and then resume for another ten minutes or so. But, if there is not a particualr task he must achieve, I'd focus more on enjoying him and letting him play.