You have likely heard that 3-4 year old children have only a five minute attention span, but is this really true? I took a course in Child Development during my university days (it didn't help me toward my PhD, but I figured it would help me as a parent...I'm very grateful for my parents and hope to emulate them). As part of the class, we were given the opportunity to observe 4-year-old children play in a preschool environment. The preschool was run on the university campus and the various play areas had hidden microphones. I could stand behind a one-way mirror wearing headphones and observe a particular child while switching between the various microphone channels as the child moved about the room. (The parents were well aware that this preschool was being used for research.) I made notes of the behavior of one child for about an hour and then switched to another child for another hour. As the child would move from one behavior to another, I would record the time. Afterward, while reviewing my notes, I was amazed at the consistency. Both children I had observed changed behaviors at five-minute intervals. The variance from this trend was remarkably small.
By the time a child reaches kindergarten, their attention span has grown to seven minutes. Under careful direction and supervision, a kindergartener can focus on one activity a bit longer. I wonder, though, if there is not some developmental reason that the rapidly developing brain of a young child needs to refocus attention at regular intervals. Certainly, the value of unstructured play time in a relaxed environment is well established. What are your thoughts?
My first comment is that if a child is having difficulty transitioning to first grade supposedly because the child is not in a full-day Kindergarten program, would it not only push the stress back to a 3 or 4 year old who would need to be ramping up in preparation for full-day Kindergarten before they are really ready emotionally for this transition? There will always be a transition, and children are all coming from very different pre-public educational experiences.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, when my son was 6 months old, I was in a position to have to work. He attended a wonderful program which he thoroughly enjoyed from 6 mos. until about 20 months, when I lost my position at work. Even at that young age, he came up to me, threw his arms around me and said, "Mommy's home!...Mommy's home!"...Enough said....