Lack of Concentration

My 7 year old son has been increasingly poor at concentrating and it is affecting his school work.  He gets enough sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, finds his schoolwork sufficiently challanging, yet not difficult, and is able to concentrate well in some areas.  He seems to daydream and get distracted alot.  How can I help without constant nagging?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

While your son is in school, ask the teacher to sit him up front, near him/her, so there are fewer distractions and so that the teacher can easily cue him to attend to the task at hand. At home, have him work in segments of time (you might even employ a timer to help structure this), and be sure he's in a quiet place free from distractions of movement, noise, etc. If the difficulty impairs his school performance even after such environmental measures are employed, consider having him evaluated re: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (primarily Inattentive type). But employ the behavioral measures first - they may be sufficient.