Your child’s attention span should be about 2 to 3 minutes for every year of age.
Attention spans by age:
– 2 years old: 4 to 6 minutes
– 3 years old: 6 to 9 minutes
– 4 years old: 8 to 12 minutes
– 5 years old: 10 to 15 minutes
Some parents may be thinking, “My child can focus on watching youtube for hours. Definitely no problem with his attention.”. However, screen time involves moving images. Different information is constantly being presented, usually at a very fast rate. Even though it is the same activity, your child is actually paying attention to the same information for only seconds at a time (or even milliseconds!).
To help your child improve attention span, do limit screen time. Also, provide opportunities to engage in open-ended activities that will allow them to think and use their imagination, such as cooking (real or pretend!), Lego block building, colouring, and playing outdoors.