Kids who are good at paying attention have parents who do 5 things: You'll 'train their brain to focus,' says expert

If it feels harder than ever to get your child to focus, you're not imagining it.

The number one challenge I hear in every workshop, parent meeting and teacher training I lead isn't tantrums, sleep issues or picky eating. Over and over, parents and educators roll their eyes and tell me various versions of: "I just can't get my kids to pay attention!"

As a mindful parenting expert, this doesn't surprise me at all. Childhood today looks very different. I remember long days of wandering in the woods with my brother as a kid, playing elaborate board games, or just being bored out of our minds.

Those extended periods of doing one (screen-­free) thing at a time are rare these days. There are a number of factors at play:

There's approximately a zero percent chance we'll completely eliminate unhealthy distractions from our children's lives, but we can help them build the mental muscles to use it mindfully.