Concentration and Focus in School-going Children.
If your child had a recent school report that stated his/her focus and concentration were lacking then maybe now is the time to do a little work to prepare for the next school year. Getting distracted is normal for young children. Most children have times when they are restless and forgetful. In general the causes for lack of concentration among children include tiredness and late-nights, poor diet and lack of interest.
However when necessary, most children will be able to concentrate on a task and complete it, be that task tidying their room, reading a book or doing their homework. Being able to concentrate means that children are able to keep their minds focussed on a task for a reasonable period of time, the length of time depending on the age of the child.
If your child is fidgety and unable to sit and concentrate for long, and you have out-ruled the obvious causes of distraction, it may be due to physical discomfort and tension that they do not have the words to explain. As some children retain the stresses and strains of birth, gentle treatment from a trained cranial osteopath can be beneficial to help release these pressures, enabling your child to fully engage with life again. A child who is physically uncomfortable may not complain of aches and pains. The stresses have probably been present since birth, and have become ‘normal’ for that child.
They may however be affected at a subtle level and display any or all of the following characteristics:
- Illnesses: lower immune system and gets frequent infections. Learning can be detrimentally affected by both a child feeling unwell and increased time lost from school. Retained birth moulding in the head restricts the development of the nasal sinuses and the ears. Such children are vulnerable to chronic ear infections and glue ear, with associated loss of hearing that can delay speech development and interfere with classroom learning. They are often habitual mouth breathers.
- Physical signs: asymmetries in the child’s posture, such as holding the head on one side, or one shoulder being higher than the other. It may be easier for the child to turn to one side than the other. This has implications on the best seating position within the classroom, to allow for activities such as watching the teacher, copying from the blackboard etc.
- Physical discomforts: headaches, growing pains, stomach aches or other physical aches and pains.
How Massage Therapy Works
Cranial Osteopathic treatment is a very gentle approach to treating children with learning or developmental difficulties. Specific gentle pressure is applied where necessary to enable the inherent healing ability of the body to effect the release of stresses. Osteopathic treatment can help in improving concentration, co-ordination, fine and gross motor skills, and auditory and visual processing issues.