Short attention span 6 yo

Hi,
Is there anything I can do to get my son to focus on an activity more?

We had his friend over today for a play date and I noticed a big difference in the two of them. The friend would stick out an activity and complete something and my DS would already be on to the next thing.

While I know every kid is different, it is something that makes daily life very frustrating. Homework is hard to get him to do and then he throws tantrums because he doesn't want to do it.

His behavior at home can be hard to be around for long periods as he cannot occupy himself for very long. Then he whines, sulks etc etc.

Any tips would be great.

He sounds a lot like my ds1. I found making sure ds had enough outdoor play (burn off all that energy) a few times a day, helped.
Short bursts of homework and a "reward" afterwards. - I didn't say to him it was a reward, but I would do something he liked afterwards.
Some days- when its melt down day, I'll get milk and cookies and just talk about stuff and I'll introduce school as a topic after awhile, then slowly move to seeing his work and talking about it. Some times even doing it.
Reading is always done cuddled up together and hi5s for effort etc.

I try to not make it a chore. But a time for us to share.
Hope that helps?

I was just coming here to make a thread about my 6yo boy. You are not alone! It takes him ages to do his homework 'cause he fusses & whinges so much. His teacher said its the same in the classroom - it might take him an hour to write a sentence as he's so easily distracted & he can't sit still on the mat & ends up rolling around.

We're going to try setting time limits to do stuff, maybe 10 mins homework, then a break, then another 10 mins if need be. Any hints would be good!

There are several websites for ADD (not that I'm diagnosing your child by any means, lol!) that have awesome tips for helping kids focus. I'd be enlisting your son's teacher's help too, as they'd surely be noticing the same at school and should be able to suggest some workable strategies. Check that the work isn't too easy or hard. Rewards and positive praise work well at that age.

Maybe try some gross motor stuff like cross crawling (google it), short sessions with breaks, more hands on stuff with homework rather than pencil and paper stuff (make spelling words out of paddle pop sticks or play dough and photograph for the teacher, write in different coloured pencils to break the words into chunks and create a visual cue, say number facts into a tape and play back, sing sentences back, number or word bingo, use the computer...Whatever floats his boat, so to speak!) A timer can help too, and gives a baseline that they can work to beat (Yesterday you wrote three words in five minutes. Lets see if you can do four today). Automaticity with writing will help too - is he forming his letters without having to specifically think about how to make each one, or is it natural? Ask him to race the clock and write as many letters of the alphabet as he can in one minute. Try to beat the previous score.

Reduce any distractions (no TV, noises, close blinds if there's traffic etc). Having said that, quiet music can aid concentration and even help block out distractions.

One of the biggest motivators for distracted kids in my class was seeing other kids go out to lunch because they were done....the kid who took 40 mins to write a sentence miraculously managed four in three minutes when all his/ her friends had gone to lunch! Partly wanting to be with friends/play, partly fewer distractions I suppose. Can you make that kind of thing work at home? 'Your fave show is on in five mins. When you finish reading this book, you can go watch it.'