Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
Article courtesy of Bright Heart Education.
Many parents report their child’s attention span getting shorter every year. “What people don’t realise is that focus is a trainable skill,” said Dr Ryan Stevenson, Co-founder & Director at Bright Heart Education, a special educational needs tutoring company. “The systems in the brain that handle attention and self-control respond really well to the right types of movement, play, and even certain kinds of games.”
Below are evidence-backed activity types that can quietly boost focus over time.
Key Takeaways
- Martial arts and open-skill ball sports (like tennis or football) are linked with better impulse control and mental flexibility, which are key parts of focus.
- Strategy games and chess can improve children’s working memory and help them practice thinking ahead instead of acting on impulse.
- Well-chosen digital games may help improve attention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, social skills and overall executive function
Focus Advice from a Professional
The first step is to rethink what “helping a child focus” actually means.
“When parents say, ‘My child can’t concentrate,’ they usually mean executive function is under strain,” Dr Stevenson said. “That includes working memory, impulse control, and mental flexibility. Those are skills you can strengthen.”
Instead of focusing only on homework time, he suggests looking at a child’s daily activity mix:
- Is there any regular, breath-raising movement?
- Do they have activities that force them to wait, plan, or think ahead?
- Do they ever practice stopping themselves, whether it’s holding a karate stance or pausing before a chess move?
1. Sign Them Up for Martial Arts or Open-Skill Ball Sports
Best for: Kids who are impulsive, energetic, or drawn to active play
Think: Karate, taekwondo, judo, tennis, table tennis, football, basketball
Think: Karate, taekwondo, judo, tennis, table tennis, football, basketball
Traditional martial arts mix complex movements, strict rules, and respect rituals, all of which place steady demands on attention and self-control.
- A 2025 narrative review concluded that across multiple small studies, martial arts programs were generally associated with better attention, working memory and inhibitory control, including in young people with ADHD. Another meta-analysis of open- vs closed-skill exercise in children found that both types helped, but open-skill sports were more effective for improving executive functions, especially inhibition and cognitive flexibility.
“You’re essentially giving the brain dozens of reps in ‘pause before you act’ every session, it’s repeated practice in stopping, choosing, and adapting under mild pressure”, Dr. Stevenson said. “That’s exactly what so many children struggle with in the classroom.”
2. Swap Mindless Scrolling for Strategy and Puzzle Play
Best for: After-school or weekend “quiet time”
Think: Chess, strategy board games, fast reaction card games, logic puzzles
Think: Chess, strategy board games, fast reaction card games, logic puzzles
- A 2025 study of 5- and 6-year-olds reported that children who took chess classes had higher visuospatial working memory scores than peers who didn’t play chess, even though both groups did similar amounts of other extracurricular activities.
The key is to choose games where kids must:
- Remember rules or patterns
- Wait for their turn
- Think a couple of moves ahead
“From a brain perspective, a 30-minute family game of chess, Dobble, or a strategy board game may be far better focus practice than an extra half-hour of drilling times tables,” Dr. Stevenson noted.
3. Be Picky About Digital Games and Use Them on Purpose
Best for: Children who already enjoy screens, especially those with ADHD
Think: Structured “serious games” or digital therapeutics prescribed or recommended in clinical/educational settings
Think: Structured “serious games” or digital therapeutics prescribed or recommended in clinical/educational settings
The research on digital games and focus is mixed. Fast-paced, reward-heavy games can fragment attention, but a growing category of “serious” or therapeutic games is designed specifically to train executive functions.
- A 2024 systematic review of serious games for neurodiverse children found that many programs reported improvements in attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, particularly when games were used within structured educational or therapeutic programs.
- A separate 2025 review of serious games as digital therapeutics for children with ADHD concluded that such games may help improve attention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, social skills and overall executive function, with most trials reporting positive engagement from children.
That doesn’t mean every app in an app store is helpful. The programs with evidence tend to:
- Have clear goals (e.g., target specific attention skills)
- Use structured sessions over multiple weeks, not endless open play
- Often be part of a wider treatment plan involving clinicians or educators
“As an educator, I’m less interested in whether a child can sit still for an hour,” Dr Stevenson said. “I care more about whether their week gives their brain enough chances to move, plan, listen, wait, and try again. When those ingredients are there, better focus usually follows.”