Attention & listening – Parents
The ability to focus attention on something or someone is important for all types of learning, particularly speech and language development. A child develops their attention and listening skills by listening to everyday sounds around them – the telephone, washing machine, animal noises etc. They will also need to focus their listening on spoken language, including single words and sentences, before they can learn to speak for themselves and communicate effectively with others.
Babies and young children develop attention and listening skills through frequent opportunities to interact and play with others around them in quiet environments.
Good attention is the ability to focus on something specific for a certain length of time. As children progress through education, it becomes increasingly important for them to focus their own attention for sustained periods of time. To learn at school, children must be able to listen and attend to what is happening around them in order to understand it, despite varying levels of distraction.
Talking Tips
- Have you turned off the TV? Put the mobile phone down? Reduce the amount of background noise and remove other distractions when talking with your child so that they can focus their listening.
- Are you using your child’s name and looking at him/her before speaking? These clues will help them to focus their attention ready to listen.
- Slow down your talking speed and pause between pieces of information. Allow time for your child to process instructions/questions before expecting a response.
- Use short simple sentences with familiar vocabulary and avoid ambiguous language. Break long instructions into short steps.
NB. Without the ability to hear, a child will not be able to develop listening skills. If there are any concerns regarding your child’s hearing, you can discuss this with your GP.
0-12 months
Attention and Listening
Children at this age are very easily distracted. A child’s attention is held only for a few moments by the dominant stimulus in the environment. They may:
- Quieten or alert to the sound of speech.
- Turn towards a familiar sound and then begin to locate a range of sounds with accuracy.
- React to interactions with others by smiling, looking and moving.
1-2 years
Attention and Listening
Children of this age are able to concentrate for a short period on a task that is of interest to them. A child’s attention may be rigid and inflexible as in order to concentrate they have to cut out other stimuli in the environment. Because they can only concentrate on one task at a time this stage of attention development is called ‘single channelled’. Children will:
- Listen to and enjoy rhythmic patterns in rhymes and stories.
- Demonstrate enjoyment by trying to join in with actions or vocalisations.
2-3 years
Attention and Listening
With adult help, e.g. using the child’s name and ‘look’, ‘watch’ children of this age are starting to be able to shift their attention from a task to directions. Children will:
- Recognise and respond to many familiar sounds, e.g. turning to a knock on the door, looking at or going to the door.
- Show an interest in play with sounds, songs and rhymes.
3-4 years
Attention and Listening
Your child needs to give his/her full attention (both looking and listening) to directions in order to be able to follow them. Your child needs to stop what s/he is doing to be able to listen.
4-5 years
Attention and Listening
Your child will now start to focus his/her attention on instructions without stopping what s/he is doing first (e.g. talking to you whilst colouring). Your child can give his/her full attention (both listening and looking) for short periods. Your child may still get distracted whilst listening by other things going on around them (e.g. someone walking into the room).
5-7 years
Attention and Listening
Your child is now able to focus his/her own attention on one activity for longer periods of time without being reminded. S/he can listen to information whilst carrying out another simple activity. Your child can focus his/her attention sufficiently to:
- follow verbal instructions
- listen to a story
- take part in a short conversation
7-9 years
Attention and Listening
Your child is now able to focus his/her own attention on one activity for longer periods of time without being reminded. S/he can listen to information whilst carrying out another simple activity. Your child can focus his/her attention sufficiently to:
- follow verbal instructions
- listen to a story
- take part in a short conversation
9-11 years
Attention and Listening
Your child is now able to focus his/her own attention on one activity for longer periods of time without being reminded. S/he can listen to information whilst carrying out another simple activity. Your child can focus his/her attention sufficiently to:
- follow verbal instructions
- listen to a story
- take part in a conversation
11-14 years
Attention and Listening
Your young person will…
- Focus their own attention on one activity without support to remain focused
- Focus their attention in the classroom, screening out some background noise
- Follow a conversation and follow who’s talking in a group
- Follow a conversation or lesson without asking for frequent repetitions
14+ years
Attention and Listening
Your young person will…
- Focus their own attention on one activity without support to remain focused
- Focus their attention in the classroom, screening out some background noise
- Follow a conversation and follow who’s talking in a group
- Follow a conversation or lesson without asking for frequent repetitions
