Attention and listening skills

By 2 years old, toddlers will usually:

• listen and react to familiar words, such as mummy, daddy or snack
• enjoy objects that make sounds
• focus on an activity of their choice, but find it hard to be directed by an adult
• listen to and enjoys patterns in rhymes and stories

You can help your toddler by:

• approaching your toddler before you speak
• always calling your toddler by name before you speak
• getting down to your toddler’s level whenever possible so they can see your face
• encouraging (but not trying to force) eye contact
• reduce background noise by turning the off the TV/radio to help your toddler focus their attention on you

Activities you can do with your toddler to improve attention and listening skills.

Singing nursery rhymes with actions like ‘incy-wincey spider’ or ‘round and round the garden’. Make sure to pause and wait for your toddler to show they want another turn.

Playing games like ‘pat-a-cake’ and ‘peek-a-boo’ games, which are repetitive can help attention and communication skills.

Sharing interactive (also known as noisy) books. These can include books with flaps and different textures. You can also make your own photo books using pictures of familiar people like mummy, daddy, grandma etc.

Reading your toddler’s favourite books again and again at quiet time. This could be during their bedtime routine. This will help your toddler hear the words and learn the story.

Playing ‘Ready? Steady... Go!’ games using push-and-go cars or pop-up toys. Pause before saying go. Increase the lengths of time to help hold your toddler’s attention.

By 5 years old, children will usually:

• sit and listen in small and large group activities like circle time for up to 10 minutes with minimal adult support
• focus on adult-led activities like puzzles, books and drawing for around 5 minutes
• focus for longer on a task of their choice
• follow instructions without stopping what they are doing, this is known as ‘Two Channelled Attention’

You can help your child by:

• approaching your child before you speak
• calling your child by name before you speak and waiting for them to look
• getting down to your child’s level whenever possible
• encouraging (but not trying to force) eye contact
• reducing background noise by turning the off the TV/radio to help your child focus their attention on you
• reducing visual distractions as much as possible

Activities you can do with your child to improve their attention and listening skills:

Using a ‘talking object’ like a small ball. When someone is speaking they must be holding the talking ball. This means everyone else (including adults) must listen to what they say and not interrupt.

Playing ‘Simon Says’. Whoever is ‘Simon’ gives out instructions such as “Simon says... touch your toes!”. The children must only perform the action if the sentence has “Simon says” at the start. This will encourage your child to focus and listen to the words before moving.

Playing listening games. Playing a game like musical statues. This is where you play some music and encourage your child to dance around the room. As soon as you stop the music they must stay still and ‘turn into a statue’.

By 7 years old, children will usually:

• finish adult led activities
• focus on adult-led activities for longer
• maintain their attention and can refocus if they are distracted
• listen to an instruction or extra information while they are carrying out an activity
• be able to be taught in a group

You can help your child by:

• calling your child by name before you speak and waiting for them to look
• making sure you do not give them a new instruction when they are mid-task
• reducing background noise by turning the off the TV/radio to help your child focus their attention on you
• reducing visual distractions by keeping unnecessary items out of sight
• using visual aid to show the amount of time they need to concentrate like using a sand timer

Activities you can do with your child to improve their attention and listening skills:

Playing ‘Simon Says’. Whoever is ‘Simon’ gives out instructions such as “Simon says... touch your toes!”. The children must only perform the action if the sentence has “Simon says” at the start. For example, if you say, “Touch your nose!” they should stand still and not touch their nose. This will encourage your child to focus and listen to the words before moving.

Using a ‘now’ and ‘next’ board. This can help redirect your child’s attention back to the current activity and to show what is happening next. You could use a whiteboard or chalkboard for this. You can also use the ‘Now and Next Board’ resource.

Using a working towards board. This can be used to show your child what they need to do to get a reward. This can be multiple things like eating all their vegetables for 5 days in a row or practicing their reading every night for a week. An example of a ‘Working towards board’ is in our resources section.

By 11 years old and above, children will usually:

• have flexible attention which can be maintained for long periods
• be choosy about what they listen to and can combine listening with other tasks
• be able to easily combine visual and audio information for example looking at diagrams or pictures whilst listening to a speaker about a wider topic
• be able to listen without looking at the source or speaker for example finishing an activity while listening for the next instruction
• be able to be taught in a group
• be able to pick out key pieces of information from long spoken instructions

You can help your child by:

• looking at your child when you speak to them
• reducing unnecessary noises for example the TV or radio
• reducing visual distractions as much as possible
• making sure you have your child’s attention before giving them an instruction for example stay their name and wait for them to look
• making sure you do not give them a new instruction when they are mid-task

Activities you can do with your child to improve attention and listening skills:

Using a visual task plan. This is where you write the list of tasks that need to be done, you can add pictures or symbols if it helps your child. They should be able to mark their task as complete in whichever way is best for them. You can check the plan to see if they’ve lost focus and gently refocus them back onto the task.

Playing ‘Simon Says’. Whoever is ‘Simon’ gives out instructions such as “Simon says... touch your toes!”. The children must only perform the action if the sentence has “Simon says” at the start. For example, if you say, “Touch your nose!” they should stand still and not touch their nose. This will encourage your child to focus and listen to the words before moving.

Playing ‘I went shopping’. Taking turns, the first player starts with “I went shopping and I bought...”. The first player then says an item they’d like to ‘buy’. The second player must repeat the phrase, repeating the shopping item of the first player and adding their own item. You can use other topics like going on a holiday.

By 19 years old and above, young people or teenagers will usually:

• have flexible attention which can be maintained for long periods
• be choosy about what they listen to and can combine listening with other tasks
• be able to easily combine visual and audio information for example looking at diagrams or pictures whilst listening to a speaker about a wider topic
• be able to listen without looking at the source or speaker for example finishing an activity while listening for the next instruction
• be able to be taught in a group
• be able to pick out key pieces of information from long spoken instructions

Activities you can do with your young person or teenager to improve attention and listening skills:

Young people and teenagers may feel that they are too old for specific activities and games focused on attention and listening. Using real situations can help them maintain and develop these skills.

Using a visual task plan. This is where you write the list of tasks that need to be done, you can add pictures or symbols if it helps your young person or teenager. They should be able to mark their task as complete in whichever way is best for them. You can check the plan to see if they’ve lost focus and gently refocus them back onto the task.

Ask them to take messages. This will encourage them to listen and retain the information before passing it onto another person.

Give them instructions with missing information. This should encourage them to pick out the missing piece of information and ask for it specifically. For example, “meet me at the library tomorrow” but do not mention the time you are meant to meet. This should then prompt them to ask what the time you will be meeting.

How to help your young person or teenager

If you have concerns about your young person or teenager's use of language, get in touch with their school or education setting. They will be able to help with your young person or teenager and, if necessary, refer your young person or teenager onto the Cambridgeshire Children's Speech and Language team.