He's "THAT" kid in swimming. RE: 3yo attention span
starlingrose
member
So over the past few years I have done lots of group classes with lo where I always attended and participated. He has always been very energetic and not one to be able to pay attention, library story time was a nightmare. Up until now, I brushed it off as "oh, he is only 18mo.. or he is only 2.5". Well, now he is 3yo and has started swimming which is led by an instructor and parents do not participate. Twice a week I watch while he struggles to pay attention, gets way more excited than the other kids, distracted every 2 seconds and can only follow instructions for about 5 seconds before he is distracted or coming up with his own game. I have asked for a volunteer to help and its still a struggle for him to get through the class.He absolutely loves water and has no fear whatsoever and in comparison to the other kids they just sit there and barely dip their faces in, they seem to be very passive kids ( two brothers).
I am worried maybe something is wrong since my kid is the only one who cannot listen/focus/pay attention at all it seems.
My real question is, how was your 3yo's attention span in their first teacher led class?
Re: He's "THAT" kid in swimming. RE: 3yo attention span
He did pretty well (same class, swimming). He has been in preschool since 2 1/2, so I don't know if that makes a difference. He can be pretty scattered in other situations. I think it's just a matter of maturing and getting used to having to listen.
Is this the only place where he is required to listen, follow instructions and stay with the group for 1/2 an hour or more?
I get to observe my kids in lessons twice a week. That gives me a glimpse into some of their independant behaviour which is nice.
My 3 year old is in swimming again this fall (also last winter in an instructor led class) and he does pretty well. He's very nervous of the water but doesn't get distracted as much as resists some of the activities he's asked to do.
He also takes skating lessons which are 45 minutes long and he stays on task for that the entire time. Too hard to make quick getaway I suppose, lol.
However, he's in daycare (and has been for years) and is used to following instructions and participating in regular and structured activities led by teachers.
Do you play taking turn games with him at home? How does he do with that? What about meal times?
I don't know if I'd be worried, but I don't know if I'd ignore it either.
Mine is in swimming too and does great some days and awful other days. In pre-school his previous prek teacher used to say he was a saint and super well behaved. (she was comparing him to a very high-energy child in his classroom). This year his new teacher expects a lot more from him and he gets in trouble for not paying attention often enough. I think at this stage they are still learning so I wouldn't worry to much about it. Have you tried offering him a sticker or other treat if he listens to the instructor? This works with my son.
Good luck!
Last year I realized I had "that" kid. I always thought, toddlers are just crazy and full of energy, and then DS and I started attending a music class with children the same age. There was a very clear difference between DS and the other children. DS is stubborn and independent. His teacher might have the children pretend or do a dance, and DS will get another idea of what he wants to do and do it. He makes up his own games and stories to everything in class, and he can be difficult to corral. It seems like he isn't paying attention at all, but if I play the music we listened to in class, he remembers it, and he remembers the activity that went with it as well as what he was doing with the music in class, so clearly he is paying attention, he just has strong opinions on what he does and doesn't want to do. I would take your son to the pool for some one and one time and see if you can see if he is retaining anything from his classes.