Short Attention

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="04ba45a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Principal's Corner</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Principals Corner"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Previous Columns"><U>Previous Columns</U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04cd2b03.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Short Attention</I></div> <div> Dear Principal,</div> <bR> <div> My son's teacher says he seems to have trouble concentrating at school. I see him at home and he's able to sit for hours watching TV or playing Gameboy. It's hard to believe he has attention difficulties. What should I say to the teacher?</div> <bR> <div>           Mrs. Li,</div> <bR> <div> Dear Mrs. Li,</div> <bR> <div> There are many factors that may affect a child's attention span and children often behave differently at school as compared to home. It is very possible that your child does sit for hours while at home but is having concentration difficulties at school.</div> <bR> <div> Television and video games have a mesmerizing effect. While it appears that the child is concentrating on one task, that screen is constantly changing. Television shows, even news shows, change scenes every couple of seconds. Some experts have suggested that television and video games actually contribute to the shortening of a child's attention span. </div> <bR> <div> You should discuss with your child's teacher specific areas of concern. Perhaps his difficulty stems from a frustration with a particular subject area.</div> <bR> <div> Children who are behind or ahead of their peer group may find themselves daydreaming rather than concentrating on work which is too challenging or too easy. </div> <bR> <div> Limiting the amount of television or video games a child plays is often a challenge for parents. Other activities such as drawing, cards or board games, reading or doing puzzles not only help develop better social skills but will also help build his attention span.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>