1St Grader Not Focused

Based on what you have shared I believe the only issue is he is a BOY and he is in FIRST GRADE. (i have two boys and know how wiggly they can be. Also one never really is engaged looking, but hears EVERY Word).

If he isn't acting out, is not disruptive and is getting the work done and understands the concepts being taught - no problems.

my son had this problem in 1st grade. He did good grade wise but his weekly report was always "P had an issue in class today, and didnt stay on task" He still has some issues this year but has grown up a lot and is doing much better. Some people just have a hard time in class. They would rather be playing.

I don't think it's your son. I think it's society's idea that a 6-year-old should sit in a classroom all day that is the problem. But I realize, that's how it is.
And that first grade is the new third grade.

My son is the same way! If we lived on a farm and had TONS of physical work, I know he'd do better in school. Yes, the lack of focus has slid into affecting academics.
I am trying to get him more exercise and time to be a kid. You can probably tell I'm not too thrilled with how education is run. I'd prefer way, way more gym time for the little ones and time to run around. I couldn't even focus like they expect him to!! I'd be bored or fidgety too!

Hmmmm, he could have a severe case of BEING SIX YEARS OLD.

I think our expectations of kids are way too high in some areas, and way too low in others. We should not expect first graders to sit still and stay on task.

The attention span is usually one minute per year of age. So his attention span is about six minutes long.

Some kids don't know what to do when they lose their place when a teacher is talking. My daughter was that way in first grade. She had trouble following someone who is speaking. She still does. Her way to cope was to fidget, move around or goof off.

Staying focused is a skill as well as part of one's personality. There's probably nothing more you can do. Wait for him to mature a bit. My daughter was on the young side and her attention span improved over the summer between first grade and second. Sometimes kids just take a while to mature, especially the younger ones. Six months makes a big difference sometimes.

There are lots of reasons why kids can't focus in class. He may have more energy then focus, be mildly add, be dyslexic, have distracting people near by, be bored, or any combo of the above.
Start by moving him away from classmates that might distract him.
Then, if they sit at tables with chairs (instead of a one piece desk) try replacing the chair with an exercise ball or a mono stool (one legged chair) or give him a stress ball to use in class.
If that doesn't help, look at the work he does complete and look for patterns, is it only during reading or math, does he transpose letters or numbers.
If none of that helps, have him tested for add or any other learning issues.

He is a boy.
He is in 1st grade.
NO kid, is still as a statue or quiet as a cotton ball or focused as an adult.
But, if your son IS.... able to do the work and do his work, even if he seems not to stay... focused, then what is the problem?
Or, does not your not do his work, too? Or just fools around?

I am sure, your son is not the only one... who does this in class.

Or, just take him to the Pediatrician and see what he/she says.

OR, does your son get enough sleep???? OFTEN times, if a child is always having lack of sleep, they cannot.focus.in.class, because they are just tired. A child needs to have adequate sleep. If not, their attention span in school, suffers. Lack of sleep causes lack of focus. And lack of concentration ability and a host of many other things.

My son is in 1st grade. I NEVER see any of the kids, just still as a statue and only being focused at their desk. And his Teacher is able to manage the kids.

Have you had his eyes checked lately?
Took my 5y in, and they said she needed bifocals!

My son is in 6th grade. We have been going through this same thing since 1st grade. I took him to get his eyes checked this past May (mid-5th grade) and it turned out he has a vision problem, needed glasses. Talk about a guilt trip!
Since getting his glasses the end of 5th grade went much better and his grades improved. Just in that last 3 weeks. Now we are in 6th, and the type of homework that was a struggle before isn't so much.

Sure, he still has the 'i forgot' syndrome, but that is more just a boy thing. :)

I don't know about the paying attention, but yes, he lacks protein in his diet. And that may very well affect his ability to pay attention.

The only protein I see listed in your post is turkey sausage and yogurt, and a small amount of peanut butter. No protein with dinner. The crackers, fruit, goldfish, jelly, pasta, applesauce, etc has a negligible amount of protein. It's not enough.
Can you make the yogurt greek? It has more protein. What about actual nuts as snacks instead of crackers? Cashews, walnuts, almonds, etc are all great snacks full of protein and good fats/oils and omegas.
If his main dinner is pizza, processed chicken nuggets and plain pasta, then it is equivalent to junk food, regardless of whether he is getting cookies chips and candy along with it.

Have you tried making him actual chicken nuggets, you know, from home. Cut up chicken, dipped in batter/bread crumbs and baked? My kids love it when I make that. It's actual chicken.

What about adding some sort of beans to his diet, they are protein rich and have fiber, too.

You could switch out the regular pasta for some of the healthier versions, a few of them actually do have a decent amount of protein in them. But you have to read the label (and take into account what a serving size is).

oh, btw, by far the best breakfast food you could give him is an egg. Scramble it, fry it, boil it, poach it, it doesn't matter. Wholesome protein. Simple, easy.

Don't be desperate, he is a 6 year-old little boy, kids at this age are full of energy and want to explore. He will learn to focus and pay more attention, and yes, he will do fine in 2nd grade. Let him exercise outside whenever possible after school, play basketball, run outside, ride a bicycle or a scooter. One simple exercise to help him to "focus" is having him every day to chase a balloon in the air while walking without using his hands but his head or nose, that is pretty fun and encourages concentration at that age....(careful with things around him, outdoors it is easier!)
Do not worry.

Make sure he is getting as much physical activity as you can squeeze in each day, and a lot of sleep. Sure, encourage a bit more protein in his diet. Then, I agree with several other responders here that all he suffers from is YTD (youthful tendency disorder... ;-). I would talk with his teacher about her expectations. My daughter's teachers have all been very good at introducing frequent movement into the school day (since they get a MEASLY 15 minutes of recess) and for one full year all student sat on exercise balls instead of chairs.

He's only in 1st grade. A lot of 6 year olds have trouble staying engaged in the classroom. Don't worry about it too much. It will improve and he gets older/more mature.

The one thing you could do is try to get more protein in his breakfast. That helps with focus. Like I would substitute a piece of toast with peanut butter for the pancakes, especially if he has syrup on the pancakes. Could be too much sugar in the morning.

he is a normal boy. my son is in kinder and has a hard time staying on task. my daughter is in first and although she can focus.. she is often focused on a piece of glitter on her finger and not the piece of work she is supposed to be doing.

on the bright side.. there is not a lot of new material to be covered in 2nd grade. 2nd grade is like first grade all over again.. just a bit harder. sounds like a normal diet for a young child.

is it possible he is bored at school? is the work too easy for him. ???

sounds like a typical 6 year old boy.....
schools tend to have inappropriate expectations these days.
ask for a "wiggle stool". it's a flat disc on top of a post. it works wonders with kids who have extra energy or just need to fidget to stay focused.

that said, he does seem to have a lot of sugar and empty calories. you might also try eliminating dyes and preservatives - they make one of my children quite angry but antsyness is a more common reaction. check the pancake syrup, the pancakes (if you aren't making from scratch), the yogurt, the jelly, and the sausage. I bet all have dyes and/or preservatives. and look at labels - the yogurt, pancakes, syrup, and sausage combined probably have in the neighborhood of 50-60 g of sugar - that's as much as a 16-20 ounces of soda - and then throw a banana in....

and quit giving him other options at dinner. he eats what's made and on the table or he doesn't eat. in a few days he will miraculously start eating the protein and vegetables.

also, check the vitamins and supplements - they usually have dyes and preservatives too. if he's eating well, he doesn't need any of them.

I know it seems odd, but many teachers of little ones give "wiggly" inattentive kids one of these to sit on. The sensory experience on their rears as well as the use of accessory muscles to balance seems to help them focus better. Check out the reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Isokinetics-Brand-Exercise-Balance-...

I'm considering getting one for my youngest, who is a notorious wiggler and fidgeter in class.

How old is your son? If he is on the young end of his class, his issue may be that he is not quite ready to give the kind of attention that the teacher is looking for from him. Also, do they get recess? If so, how much, and how often? Young kids need to move. It helps them stay focused if they get breaks. If they are not getting recess, it is worth asking a lot of questions about why that might be.

Please go and observe in his class. Sit out of the way and stay there long enough that your son forgets you're there. Watch and see whether or not his behavior is atypical. Also look for distractions and obstacles - are there kids around him doing things that draw his attention? Is his view of the front obscured? Can he see and hear? Does he have easy access to the materials he needs? Is the room too hot or too cold? Is it well-lit without being harshly lit? Does it smell? Does his desk fit him, or is it too small/too big/wronghanded? Does his teacher tolerate from others that which she is noticing in him? Are there distracting noises (loudly ticking clock, buzzing fluorescent lights, frequent interruptions for announcements)? Is he always the first or last called on? Does the teacher have positive interactions with your child?

It is also worth making sure that your son's vision is good. And consider whether he is understanding what is going on in class, and whether he has barriers to reading, writing, or math that might need to be addressed. Some kids respond to not understanding or struggling by going off to dreamland. What looks like inattention can actually be fear of failure or a dislike of the work because it doesn't make sense or is too difficult because there's an issue that needs to be dealt with. My daughter had a teacher who tried hard to make me medicate her for what the teacher was sure was ADD. My daughter does not have ADD. What she did have was fine motor delays that made writing excruciating. Her teacher was so focused on what looked like a lack of attention to her (because my child avoided written assignments) that she completely missed the underlying issue.

As for nutrition factors, if you're worried, ask your pediatrician, but I don't see anything here that sets off alarm bells, other than he seems a little short on veggies. There's a fun cookbook called Deceptively Delicious that has recipes with hidden veggie purees. You might want to check it out at the library and give some of them a try.

Good luck. Do be open-eyed and clear-minded about your son and any issues he might have, but don't let the school system push you into believing he's ADD or scare you unnecessarily. His teacher is not a psychiatrist, and is not qualified to make diagnoses. Kids can have trouble paying attention for a lot of reasons. Schools are reluctant to admit that the classroom environment or the expectations they place on very young children might be at least part of the problem.

Kids can get restless but if it's to the extreme that it's interfering with his learning on a daily or near daily basis then he needs to go in to get a full evaluation by a psychiatrist to check for ADHD. There's nothing to be worried or scared about. Do not settle for a 5 minute check to get a diagnosis for ADHD. It needs to be done by a pro and it takes a good hour and a half or more. If he qualifies he may need meds. They will start with a very low dose and move him up until it is correct. No worries! ADHD is real. It is not an excuse.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

Sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things. I have the same problem with my kids. Teachers have told me they have trouble focusing sometimes. His diet doesn't sound bad. I've tried a few things with my kids. We eat a breakfast with protein. We had turkey sausage today too. Limit carbs where I can (this is difficult). Pick up some magnesium. Many children with attention problems are magnesium deficient. Also a B complex helps and works well with magnesium. Also zinc is another big one.

I limit juice and the kids don't even ask for it anymore. More raw vegetables. My kids actually prefer raw. Less refined foods. Less sugar.

More exercise helps. We try to walk part of the way to school. My older son rides his bike to school because he is ADHD and it has helped!

Best of luck to you.

Hi B.,
I could have written the first half of your post to a T! My son is exactly the same as yours and I am not exactly sure what to do to help him.
So far we've removed all processed foods from his diet. Hasn't seemed to help at all but I will stick with it.
I've spoken with his teacher and she seems to think that it is a maturity issue for him and that as he gets older he will outgrow it. I really hope she's right because otherwise we're looking at repeating 1st grade.
Please let me know what you decide to do and how it works.

Why go this alone or just use online info. from strangers? At this point, it's serious if it's affecting school. Talk to his pediatrician for advice.

If his lack of focus isn't improving and is affecting his education, it's time to take this seriously and get medical input. Have you considered ADHD-inattentive type (no hyperactivity)? Vision problems? A learning disability? These are all things the pediatrician can help you zero in on or refer you to a specialist who can do an evaluation. You want to make sure he doesn't have a medical reason for his struggles. Sometimes diet, vitamins and games just won't solve things.

I think that is a lot of sugar. Bananas and many other fruit are a natural source of sugar. The peanut buttter may have a lot of sugar too. It depends on the brand. The label should tell you. I really don't see a lot of nutrition in his diet and suggest you try to alter it. Will he eat a bean & cheese burrito? Sometimes I spoon feed my 7 year old, just to get her to eat the good stuff. It's ridiculous, but she eats it. Will he eat eggs? Try every kind.

Feed him the chicken nuggets every night if he will eat it. May eventually you can talk him into an actual chicken finger. Try to get the most natural ones. Maybe Trader Joe's has something.

As for his attention. Maybe he is lost and can't relate to the subject being taught. Do you review his work with him? How active are you every night with his studies? I look at scool as a group study and home as one on one.

Just last night my 1st grader and I had a break through in math. We have an addition chart with all the addition listed on a dry erase board. I had her work on what I told her. We started with all the doubles (6+6, 4+4) then 4+5, then 5+4. soon she saw a pattern and saw how she could go faster. What I believe did for her was boost her confidence in addition.

I hope that helps.

Yay you for looking to his diet! I don't have any suggestions there, unfortunately -- looks like you're already keeping him away from refined sugar, food dyes, and the like. One thing I wonder about, though, is exercise. Is it feasible for you to get him doing a morning sprint (say, a quarter-mile) in the morning before school?

I also really like the idea of an exercise ball chair. Or, alternatively, one of my favorite bloggers once described how her son's teachers tied a pilates band between his chair legs, so he could kick his feet around without disturbing the other kids. He might also benefit from having one of those little hand-held, squeezable exercise balls atop his desk.

Finally, sleep? You might try moving his bedtime up half an hour or an hour -- see if that helps.

Hi, I myself was a late bloomer. My teacher often threw me chalk eraser because I can't focus. I was close not to pass 1st grade. But then, when I was on the 4rd grade I started to gather all my souls, which had been wandering somewhere out there.
Btw, I heard that in the morning you are not supposed to eat white flour ( pancakes) or have full tummy. A doctor once told us that white flour is sticky, slow to digest. The oxygen is trapped in the tummy, and can't flow to the brain optimally. The energy is also used to digest the food.
I myself found that I can think faster and better when I am not too full. Please try to give him light breakfast, such as fruits, veggies salad and juice. Give him an apple so he can eat during recess. Well, my son is still in preschool so I have no idea how many times kids here have recess,but in Indonesia, after 90 minutes learning we have 10 minutes recess.
Good luck mom!And no, no vitamins can make you smarter. Besides, try to see the positive side, he is a sweet boy. That's really good. How if he is too smart and outsmart you ;)