Why “just sit there another half hour” does not work
Three reasons why forcing longer sessions sets progress back.
- A block set above what they can do — The child ends it by getting up — that is, with a failure. A few evenings like that teach them that work cannot be finished, and next time they start reluctantly.
- A break there is no coming back from — Five minutes on a phone rarely ends after five minutes, and returning attention needs a few more to pick up the thread.
- No visible end — Without knowing how much is left, every minute looks like forever. An hourglass or a timer on the table turns it into a finite stretch.
What cannot be lengthened
Four limits most home attempts run into.
Attention does not grow in a straight line
A week forward, three days back — that is the normal course. Conclusions come from a month, not an evening.
In the evening the block is shorter
The same attention at nine at night has different stamina from five in the afternoon. Compare measurements from the same time of day.
A hard subject has its own length
With maths the block is often half what it is with reading. That is not a regression but a different cost of the task.
Boredom is not a lack of attention
A task that is too easy distracts just as effectively as one that is too hard. If the block falls apart on simple exercises, the problem is the material.
The method in six points
The first week is about measuring; only the second is about lengthening.
- Measure three times and take the average
Three ordinary evenings, a clock to one side, the number of minutes to the first break away written down. One measurement means nothing, because days differ a great deal.
- Set the block a fifth shorter
If the average is fifteen minutes, the block is twelve. There is one aim: the child should be closing it, not falling out of it.
- Put something on the table that shows the time
A timer or an hourglass, not a phone with a timer app. A visible end turns the work into a stretch of known length.
- Add two minutes every three days
The condition is strict: the previous block worked three times in a row. Without that you stay at the same length for a few more days.
- A five-minute break, with movement, no screen
Walk about, have a drink, look out of the window. A screen in the break eats what the block has just built.
- Finish on a success
The last block of the day should be an easy one. How the evening ended is what the child remembers tomorrow as they sit down.
Lengthening has a ceiling, and that is normal. When the block stays put for two weeks despite the rules being kept, leave the length alone and work on fitting more into it.
What a month of adding two minutes looks like
A record from the sheet on the fridge. The numbers are illustrative — your child's starting point will differ, but the course usually looks similar.
The version that fails
- Monday: the average of the measurements is 12 minutes; the parent sets the block at 25, “because that is what a ten-year-old should manage”.
- Tuesday: the block ends with getting up in the eighteenth minute.
- Wednesday: the same, plus an argument about how “you can do it if you want”.
- Thursday: the child sits down assuming it will not work — and it does not.
- After a week there is no block, but there are three unpleasant evenings.
The version that grows
- Three measurements: 11, 13 and 12 minutes. The average is 12, so the first block is 10 — a fifth shorter.
- Days 1–3: the 10-minute block works three times. The timer sits on the table; the end is visible.
- Day 4: a 12-minute block. It works.
- Day 7: a 14-minute block. The first attempt fails — you stay at 12 for another three days.
- End of the month: an 18–20-minute block, still 14 for maths — and that is fine, because a hard subject has its own length.
There is no week without a stumble in this record, and there should not be. Attention does not grow in a straight line: a week forward, three days back is the ordinary course, and conclusions come from a month, not an evening.
Take the first measurement today
Without it the method has nothing to start from. Three ordinary evenings, no changes to the surroundings.
- An ordinary task, a clock to one side
You change nothing: the same place, the same time, the same phone wherever it usually lies. The measurement has to show how things actually are, not how they are after a tidy-up.
- Write down the minutes to the first break away
Anything counts as leaving the task: standing up, the phone, a question about something else. One number per evening.
- Repeat three times and take the average
Three ordinary evenings. One measurement says nothing — Monday and Friday can differ twofold.
- Subtract a fifth
That is the length of your first block. It should be shorter than what the child can manage — then it ends in success rather than in getting up.
The result is one number: the length of the block for the next three days. If the average came out below eight minutes, start from five — but first check the working conditions, because a block that short in a child over ten usually says more about the phone and the time of day than about attention.
Do not tell the child you are measuring their attention — say you are looking for the length at which work will finish on time. That is true, and it is the difference between measuring and judging.
What the research says
Two papers on why short and daily rather than long and occasional.
Rueda et al., 2005 — attention training in children
Five days of computer-based attention exercises produced a measurable change in executive-attention tasks among four- and six-year-olds. The paper did not compare session lengths — the fact that our exercises are short and daily is a decision from our classes, not a conclusion from it.
Diamond and Ling, 2016 — a review of programmes that improve executive functions
Attention improves where it is used, and for as long as it is practised — and the effects are largest for the children who were doing worst. That is why the block is built on homework rather than on exercises alongside it.
The research looked at attention training, not at our course, and in both papers the exercises were led by an adult. The numbers in the table below are not norms — they are a starting point for your own measurement.
The most common mistakes when lengthening a block
Four things that stop the block growing or start it shrinking.
Adding five minutes at a time
A jump of a third ends with getting up in the middle — that is, a failure. Two minutes every three days looks laughable, and that is exactly why it works.
Lengthening without three successful blocks
The condition is strict: the previous length worked three times in a row. Without that you are raising a bar the child will knock down anyway.
A break with a phone in it
Five minutes on a phone rarely ends after five minutes, and returning attention needs more still. The break should involve movement and no screen.
Ending the evening on a failure
The last block of the day should be easy. How the evening ended is what the child remembers as they sit down tomorrow — and that decides how long they take to get going.
A realistic working block
Rough ranges for material of average difficulty. Your own average from the measurement matters more than the table.
| Age | A realistic working block |
|---|---|
| 8–10 years | 10–15 minutes, a break after each block |
| 11–13 years | 15–25 minutes, a break after each block |
| 14–18 years | 25–35 minutes, a break after each block |
Start from a number, not an impression
The free test is three short game-like tasks: memory, attention and reasoning. One of them measures work under conditions where nothing interrupts.
Open the free testshort test, about 7 minutes · no sign-up · instant result
Where the two minutes come from
From concentration training at Space Memory: the coach measures the block in the first session and moves the line a few minutes each week, always after three successful attempts. The home version differs only in that you run the measurement yourselves.
Parents' questions
How long should a ten-year-old be able to concentrate?
The ranges in the table above are indicative and say less than your own measurement. A child who manages eight minutes today should start from six, not fifteen.
Is the pomodoro method suitable for children?
Twenty-five minutes can be too long for younger ones. The principle is sound; the length has to come from the measurement, not from an app.
What if the child finishes a block and will not come back after the break?
Usually the break was too long or had a screen in it. Five minutes, movement and an agreed signal to return settle most of those evenings.
Can we lengthen it every day?
It is not worth it. Adding daily ends within a week in a block above what they can manage and a return to the starting point.
How long before the block grows noticeably?
With the rules kept, the change is often visible after a few weeks. The number of completed blocks grows faster than their length.
Does this work for studying online?
Yes, but a tab with something else counts as leaving the room. When working at a computer the block is worth setting shorter.
Pages on where to get the exercises and what to do about the conditions.
Attention test for kids
Check for free which part of attention needs work.
Concentration exercises for kids
Five exercises to fill the block with
How to improve a child's concentration
The conditions without which lengthening will not start
Child cannot focus on schoolwork
Counting interruptions across three evenings
Would you like someone outside to run the measurement?
In concentration training the line moves every week and is written down, and the child works in a group of 5–10 for 90 minutes. Leave a request and we will tell you about the next group.
Request a callThe method is free and works at home. In class the difference is that someone other than a parent runs the measurement.