My Child Is Easily Distracted

"Has anyone had the experience of a child, 10 yrs old, who just can't seem to complete a math paper in class or write a paper. He does fine in spelling and can read and build detailed airplanes with legos, but when given a paper with math problems to finish within a given time in class, he only gets to the 2nd problem. Also, he can tell you what he wants to say on a paper project, but has a hard time putting it on paper. He's not hyper, he is calm and quiet."

"My son is in the frist grade he has problems of focsing and paying attention in school. In the begaing of school it was just minor problem, but after winter break it got worst. Not only in school he is having this problem, but also home. He is a smart boy, but it is very hard for him to express himself. He has problems with finishing his work on time in class and with concentrating. Even when I ask him any questions about school he will ignore it or change the subject. It is very hard to get anwsers from him. Even when he dose his home work I have to be very stricked or he will not do finish it. Iam very worry if he might have ADD. Please help me find the right anwser . thank you "

"My son is in second grade, and he is also having difficulties staying focus in class, he hears someone talking or hears a noise he will stop what hes doing to see what happen. I'm fresh out of ideas. It starting to affect his grades,he will do a lot of incomplete class work and here at home he does his work really well and fast. what else can i do to help my child? I'm sure that hes lack of concentration is having a HUGE impact on his grades."

"Cool site."

"I have a five year old son who is immature for his age. In school he is easily distractted by his surroundings but, also by his own thoughts. He can sit forever in circle/story time and pay attention but, when asked to attend to an independent activity (i.e. art) he isn't able to apply himself. I would like know if the capability of focusing comes with maturing in children. "

"My son just started kindergarten and is having trouble paying attention to work. He's too busy focusing on his surroundings too. I'm not sure if his incomplete school work is due to his not listening or if he really doesn't understand. How early is early to have your child evaluated for possible learning difficulty? Or should I just give it more time, since he just started kindergarten?"

"My son is in second grade. He makes the grades but he cant seem to finish the work in class because his gets distracted easy. I'v asked the teacher to test him for something but she doesnt pay attention to me what should i have him tested for? That way I can tell his teacher what to test him for."

"Good article..."

"My son is in 2nd grade and is been having problems finishing his work on time with the rest of his classmates. I work at the school and have been communicating with the teacher. My concern is if there are 7 kids in his class with one teacher why can't my son concentrate and finish his work . His teacher says he stops and looks around and playes with his pencil instead of looking at his paper. My son is an A student and has taken his SAT test since Kingder and all his results have come back average or above average. When he comes home with all the classwork he doesn't finish he understands them all and does them at home without problems. I really need someone to direct me in the right direction , I am really concern since teacher has mentioned to have him tested for ADD. My son is smart and I just can't take it anymore seeing him do so good with me and other teachers but not with his 2nd grade teacher. Please help."

"My daughter did really good up to 2nd grade now this year she has went down hill with her math! Her teacher has told me that she wants to refer her to special needs for math but I don't know if it is necessary or she just needs some psychological help from a specialist? I don't know what else to do because she does not focus at all at school or at home during homework time. Any ideas will be helpful. Thanks"

"I don't necessary think it should be a law for parents to go back to school, I do however think textbooks would benefit me and my child. I have not done algebra in upteen years. My son does not have a textbook and he is not a very good note taker. The school does not have the funds for text books??? I try the internet but most websites were not clear to us. "

"Perhaps it should also be law that adults return to school for refresher courses every 10 or 15 years... >From what I can tell reading these parental replies. They could really benefit from being exposed to things they have forgotten. If they could actually help their children with school work... Instead of saying 'not now', 'I don't have time', or 'ask the other parent, or sibling' because they really don't know the answer. Often I see that children can accomplish more on their own then with their parents help. That shouldn't be the case."

"I have really enjoyed your web site. I first found it by reviewing schools in our area but continued reading and found an area of interest. I am very interested in children that have trouble concentrating or staying on task. The one mothers comments about her second grader having trouble paying attention in class was interesting. My daughter is in fifth grade now but I have noticed this since third grade and ask for screening through the school with very little resolution. I have since sent her for private screening and found that she may have a 'mild' case of ADD. Do I medicate or just continue to monitor her progress in fifth grade. Her current teacher is awsome so she is thriving so far? Any feed back to this subject be helpful."

"my son did great in grade one now his in grade two and brought home a very bad rapport his teacher told me that he dont concentrate in class he dont finish the tasks she gave him, he cant read or spell correctly she also said that his always very quiet in class and talks with no one, i know my son is very clever but something isnt right, what could be going wrong?"

"my son was place in an IEP program 06-07 school year he did well with his grades. 07-08 school he started the year with 70% know he is failing with 43-66% in all class the school has him label as a 'behaviorial problem' he is smart boy. the aide is a member of the PTA she is not a teacher. I have question this with the school but, your guess is as good as mine. My son use to love school, 1 may be 2 absences a school year. Know he feels the teachers don't like him so he can't get the help he needs in class. Please help stress out single parent."

"my sons kinder teacher said she filed paperwork as he could not concentrate for 30 mins. she now retracts this as she is not sure. i am concerned but more alarmed at the cavalier way this was handled. suggestions please"

"I am reading alot about the child having a hard time focusing while in class, but does their home-work well at home. I am this same issue with my son, but I am finding it very easy to just label a child with ADD or ADHD insteading of accepting that our children were created this way and there isn't anything wrong with them. I think giving a child some meds and calling it a day is much easier then taking a look at home life, is the school at it's max when it comes to teacher student ratio, is there a teachers aid, can parents come in to help. I mean, let's take more proactive approach and see what we as parent can do. Of course, if a child does indeed need the meds, great, but try to get involved and see what you can do as a participating parent at school and home. Let's think back when we were in school. Mom's stayed home and did home-work with kids and it was a lot more hands on. Perhaps we need to take a step back before giving our child medication to calm them down. "

"My 1st daughter is 5 y.o., is hard to focus in class, she likes to move around in the class but still she can answered the question about the lesson. That quite surprised the teacher. She is a smart girl and also a quick learner, but it is hard to make her sit in the chair for more than 5 minutes so sometimes make the class become distractive. Especially at home, she cannot just sit nicely but jump over the couch, running, or maybe screaming. Sometimes I must yelled at her. I really don't know what to do.... My friend told me that my child having a focus distraction. I need ur advice. Is it possible that we can protect her from anykind of food that will raise her hyperactive and became a focus distraction child."

"My daughter had lots of trouble focusing, mostly right after school when she was trying to do her homework. That was in 2nd grade. As time went by, she started to forget to bring assingments home, or the book to do the homework. By 4th grade, she was crying by the time she got off the bus because she didn't want to do her homework. Any noise distracted her and she had to basically start over. I had her tested at the school for ADD in 4th grade and they said she was AVERAGE. nothing wrong. The first week of 5th grade was worse than 4th grade. Went and talked to our doctor and she put my daughter on Focalin FX. Small dose just to see what would happen. By this time my daughter had low self esteem and was putting herself down about school. We started the medicine on a Saturday and on Monday, she came in the front door BOUNCING after school! She was SO excited about her day! She was able to pay attention all day and she did ALL of her homework without one breakdown.! That was all it took! I didn't want my daughter labeled ADD, or taking meds everyday. And the school kept saying she was fine. She was the one telling me it was hard, I was the one noticing her having a meltdown every time there was homework. We did up th medicine to th next level and it seems to last clear thru dinnertime now. She knows she must do her homework as soon as she gets home, or that medicine wears off and she can't concentrate as well in the evening. This year has been GREAT compared to the rest. I wish I would have trusted my gut earlier and not listened to the school. She looked like she was paying attention in class, but she was truly distracted and figured out how to cover it up. By the time she got home she was exhausted from trying to pay attention and couldn't. This medicine has changed the way she views school and herself. I am thankful everyday for it. She is too! and- she taked the initiative to take it everyday without being reminded. ! She never forgets it! THAT tells me she can really tell the ! differen ce! "

"Have an 11 yr old son that has a hard time focusing and following instructions from the teacher. His mind wanders off when teacher is explaining or giving instructions. "

"i have a son who knows the information but cant seem to be able to get the info onto the paper like you can ask him about a word to use in a sentence he can tell you but cant seam to get down to the paper it frustrait him as well as my self cause he knows it but cant get it out cany you help me to help him me and his teacher are at lose at this "

"I have the same problem but with my Kindergarten son."

"i have a son who has had some problems focusing on his work at school but is fine when he is at home. the teacher is telling me he has an attention problem. i am not putting my kid on drugs to satisfy a teacher. i do understand that it is getting dificalt for the teacher to manage her kids and grant but she keeps telling me he is very intelligent and he knows what he is doing he just don't want to do it when told."

"My son was in first grade at a public school and he was having a really hard time focusing and staying on task. His teacher suggested that he might have ADD. We had him checked by a Psychologist and she wanted us to put him on medication. I needed to follow my gut and try homeschooling him because I thought that some of the problem was due to the way the classroom was managed. What a wonderful difference homeschooling has made!! My son is now able to learn at his pace and there's no homework at 5 in the evening. My son is reading and writing a lot better and the nice thing is that he is able to take breaks when he needs them (when he is feeling antsy or stressed out). I would recommend homeschooling to any parent that is questioning whether or not to put their child on medication. "

"My granddaughter is distracted easily. She is a very bright girl, but tends to pay more attention to things around her than what is directed to her. She attended a private school during her 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades of school. My daughter now has her in public school. She has always had a problem paying attention in class. (talking to other students) She is a very smart girl...she has come in 1st and 2nd place in spelling bees (while in private school). She loves to read and pretend that she is a teacher. What can I do as a loving grandparent as well as pass on to my daughter to teach her to focus in class. Her teacher agrees that she is a very smart and obedient girl... but has problems focusing in class. EXAMPLE: If I am working with her on some of her math homework and the cat, her brother or grandfather walks by she is very easily distracted and I will have to almost start ALL over... she seems to forget some of what we were working on and we start all over. PLEA! SE, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP HER? Thanks in advance for your assistance."

"My son is exactly the same as the child mentioned in 9/5/o7.He likes going to school. he just gets distructed very easily,he is a class behind.His teacher tells me that he does not focus in class, he tends to forget very easily what's going on. what can l do. But if it comes to playing . he pays great attention. infact, he can tell you what's going to happen in the movie before it occurs. What can l do to help him?"

"My son was diagnosted with ADD the doctor gave me a prescription for ritalin medicine i herad a lot of bad thing about the side effect even some children commited suicide i decide not to give him but i don't know if i'm doing something bad for him. I am very confused"

"My daughter is distracted too. She is very bright and seen her very high marks on test. THen all of a sudden she'll bring home a low test score. Her teachers say she chatters alot in class and is easily distracted. She gets along well with children, but what can I do regarding distraction and focusing. She is in 3rd grad and is the only child. I do talk with her teacher now once a week, help."

"Our 7 year old son, in first grade, also has difficulty focusing. He is very bright and ahead of his grade level, and at our parent-teacher conference this morning, his very nice teacher stated that she felt his lack of focus was holding him back. If he has two hours to complete 3 workshops, he takes two, when in fact he completes them at the very end in 20 minutes or less. I'm not sure how to help teach him how to focus. Is it a skill he's not yet learned? Should he have by now? Is it something I can help him with in the evenings and on weekends? At this point, I am seriously considering homeschooling instead of an institution. I don't believe the class of 24 children allows the teacher to provide the individualized attention 24 children need--especially at this age. Rather than learning how to focus, he's learning how to procrastinate and delay. There's no incentive to finish early because he still has to sit in the classroom until everyone else is done. My frie! nds that homeschool indicate they saw great improvement in focusing skills when they began homeschooling because the children know that when they are finished, they get to go out and play. If anyone has any other suggestions, I would love to hear them. "

"I am a teacher who does care very much how each and every child does in my class. I sit up every night wondering what I can do to help those who don't get it, get it! Sometimes children who are not focused in class do have other issues such as ADD, or those children just need to be challenged with school work that is appropriate for that specific child. As I teacher I would appreciate parent feedback in knowing what your child is capable of at home so that the teacher and parent can work together to come up with a plan that challenges and helps your child focus. Do not assume that your child's teacher does not care. Assume that they want to help and work together to give your child the best possible education. "