Ryder asks, “How can you stay focused in school if you have trouble concentrating sometimes?”
Ryder asks, “How can you stay focused in school if you have trouble concentrating sometimes?”
You can find out more about Nina Purewal and her work at NinaPurewal.com.
If there’s a question you’d like to ask, or if you have advice to share, you can reach us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com.
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It’s OK To Ask: A Kids Advice Podcast
S1 EP02, Staying Focused
[INTRODUCTION]
Nina: This is It’s Okay To Ask: A Kids Advice Podcast.
I’m your host, Nina Purewal.
We know that you get confronted with big, massive, sometimes scary questions all of the time about what you should do in certain situations, how to react and what to say, how to respond to certain people.
Here at A Kids Company About, we want to provide a safe space for you to ask questions and also get some great advice. But sometimes you have to ask a couple of people for advice before you know exactly what to do. And that's why we've created an entirely different kind of podcast.
This is so exciting! It's a dynamically created podcast! This means that no two listens are going to be the same. You can listen to the episode, delete it and download it again for a whole new set of advice from different kids. Just like asking a second or third person what to do.
Today's question comes from Ryder.
Ryder asks, “How can you stay focused in school if you have trouble concentrating sometimes?”
That's a great question, Ryder. And even grownups have a hard time concentrating sometimes. I know I do.
So what do you think, is it ever difficult for you to concentrate in school? What do you do to stay focused?
Let's hear some advice.
[ADVICE FROM KIDS]
Choice 1
Jonah: Hi, my name is Jonah. I'm 11 years old and I live in Maryland.
If you're having trouble concentrating, you can try to focus. On the main thing in your classroom or wherever you are working, you can maybe hold a stress ball or you can close your eyes just to rethink about everything.
Choice 2
Aria: My name is Aria. I'm 8 years old and I live in Toronto, Ontario.
The way you can stay focused in school is dark with distractions at home while you're doing your work, um, so you have a better time of concentrating at school when there's kids talking with the teacher talking.
Choice 3
Bianca: My name is Bianca. I am seven years old. I live in Ontario, Canada.
The way that I stay focused in school is I put my distractions away in my desk and I focus on what my teacher's telling me. And it's just way more easier to concentrate because I don't have the distraction.
Choice 4
Cyla: Hi, my name is Cyla Grace Hoffman. I'm eight years old and I live in Atlanta, Georgia.
I take a break and step away from what I'm doing and breathe or do something else.
If you reinsert yourself into the situation, and then return to that and you will have a different mindset about what you're doing and it will help you be more focused. You take a break and you come back and then you're able to dive in and focus really hard and get all your energy out into focusing and not getting all your energy out and being super distracted and talking to a friend, playing with fidgets, drawing, doodling.
You can really focus, insert your brain into learning or writing or doing what is on their paper and what you were supposed to be doing instead of goofing off. [giggle]
Choice 5
Leo: Hi, my name is Leo. I am eight years old and I live in California.
My advice to say focused in school is, so if you have four desks, say three of those desks are your best friend and one of them is you, do you think you're going to have really good concentration or do you think you're going to have worse concentration because you're sitting next to your best friends?
What I would say is you know, you're going to talk to them. So just tell everyone to just be quiet. And at my school we do, uh, every one table gets to go out early to lunch or recess. So me and my friends at the same table try to really just be focused. And then we go out to lunch and recess early. So that is my advice.
You also have to lead by example by you doing it. And if they're still talking, you can tell them.
So my advice is to tell your friends to quiet up so we can have more playtime and just be more focused.
[SIMILAR EXPERIENCES]
Nina: Welcome back.
The advice we often give others comes from a place of what we have experienced in life. What we've been through or what we've learned so far through our experiences help us figure out how to respond when new things come our way, or when friends are asking for advice about their experiences.
Let's listen to similar experiences from one of your peers. A peer is someone who's close in age to you or who has had similar experiences.
I wonder if any of our peers have had trouble concentrating? Let's find out.
Choice 1
Jonah: This is Jonah and there was an experience of my sixth grade when I was having a really hard time concentrating and couldn't focus in school.
So I used stress balls and tried to use all the advice that I could use. And it turned out to me ending up doing homeschool. But that is perfectly fine. Sometimes things don't always work out and you just got to stick through.
Homeschool is going really well. I think it is better than public school in my opinion and I'm happy that I'm in this place right now.
Choice 2
Aria: Yeah. So I had a difficulty on concentrating, so my mom gave me work to do at home with my sister and my parents talking and it really helped. And now I'm able to concentrate a lot better in school.
Choice 3
Bianca: There was somebody in my class and she's in front of me and I always had to say hi to her and wave to her. And it distracts me a little bit.
And I normally have, but now I actually stop doing that and it helps me much more better, and I get less, less distracted with people.
Choice 4
Cyla: One time I was sitting in math and I got distracted talking to a friend. So I took a break, turned away and came back and I was able to do my work.
It can be hard. Sometimes you can get caught in the moment, but you will know if your teacher's looking at you. Sometimes you just have to tell your friend, “Hey, not now. I got to do my work,” and continue working.
Choice 5
Leo: My thing is, actually, I like to talk and play with my friends a lot at lunchtime when we eat at our tables and I, there are aids, which are like, I don't know what it stands for, but they're like teachers who don't teach, but they're outside to help us at recess and lunch.
So they have this like blow horn, not a blow horn, you know, like the microphone horn and they're telling us what to do. And sometimes I get dis-focused because I'm talking to my friends and I can't hear them. So I, yeah, that is my similarity.
Nina: I can assure you that we all go through these experiences. Even grownups. If you’ve got one near you, just ask! I guarantee you they have days where it's hard for them to concentrate.
It happens to me all the time. I'm trying to stay focused on something at work, and my mind is all over the place. But you know, that doesn't make it any easier for you to go through it, but it can serve as reassurance that you're not alone, no matter what age you are.
And even though it's hard, you're going to be okay when you come out the other side.
We're going to take a quick break here. And when we return, we're actually looking for your advice.
Seriously, stick around.
[ASKING FOR YOUR ADVICE]
Nina: Welcome back to It’s Okay to Ask: A Kids Advice Podcast. Before the break we heard advice based on a question sent in by Ryder around how to concentrate when you have a hard time.
Now it's our turn to ask you.
Each of your peers brought a question. And you'll hear from one of them in just a moment. After you do, it's your chance to share some advice.
Let's hear what others have to say.
Choice 1
Jonah: This is Jonah and what do you do if your friend is annoying you, but you don't want to say it that they're annoying you?
Choice 2
Aria: My question is, what if you have homework from school, but when you get home, you're really, really busy, either like, if you have like some younger siblings or you have a few classes to go to. How can I balance that all in a day?
Choice 3
Bianca: What do you do if you get bullied at school?
Choice 4
Cyla: Do you have those fidget things? If so, what's your favorite kind? Do you like pop-its or monkey noodles or fidget spinners? And do they help you focus or are they really just a distraction?
For me, I think they're a distraction because you get so caught up when playing with them that you can't focus on what you're supposed to be doing.
Choice 5
Leo: Listeners, how can I stay more focused? And, you know, I talk to my friends a lot at lunch and I bet you do too, but how can I stay more focused and pay attention to the aides more instead of just paying attention to my friends?
[WRAP-UP]
Nina: Well, what do you think?
Did you relate to any of the responses we heard today or any of the experiences?
Did they help you in any way?
And more importantly, what's your advice?
You can pause the show and share with whoever else is sitting around you. And you can also share with us. And I mean that! You can write to us or send us a voice message and we'll make sure your advice gets into the right hands.
Just email listen@akidspodcastabout.com.
And one last thing before we go. Remember that I shared in the beginning that this is a special and different kind of podcast. One that is dynamically created. So no two listens are the same.
If you're ready to hear more advice around Ryder's question, or you're just curious to hear the responses from other kids, delete this episode from your podcast app and download it again for a whole new set of answers.
If you're, if you're listening on a website, hit refresh.
And remember, it's okay to ask for advice on whatever is going on in your world.
You were not alone, my friend.
Until next time, I’m Nina. Thanks for listening.
[CLOSING]
Nina: Thank you Ryder for that phenomenal question, and to all of our peers for your fantastic advice.
If there’s a question you’d like to ask, or if you have advice to share, you can reach us at listen@akidspodcastabout.com.
It’s Okay To Ask is written by me, Nina Purewal. You can learn more about me and my work at NinaPurewal.com.
Our show is edited and produced by the wonderful Matthew Winner with help from Chad Michael Snavely and the team at Sound On Studios. Our executive producer is Jelani Memory. And this show was brought to you by A Kids Podcast About.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever podcasts are found and check out other podcasts made for kids just like you by visiting akidsco.com.