Do younger children have more difficulty maintaining attention compared to older children?

The assertion that younger children have more difficulty maintaining attention compared to older children is well-supported by research in developmental psychology. As children grow, their cognitive abilities, including attention span, improve significantly. Younger children often lack the maturity in their cognitive processes that allows them to focus on a task for an extended period. This is largely due to the ongoing development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher-level executive functions such as attention control, impulse regulation, and task management.

Younger children are also more prone to distractions, which affects their ability to focus on a single task. They may be easily sidetracked by their environment or transitions from one activity to another. In contrast, older children have typically developed better strategies for sustaining attention, employ self-regulation skills more effectively, and can often prioritize tasks based on their importance and relevance.

While environmental factors, like noise, can impact attention span, the general trend is that age plays a critical role in the ability to maintain focus. Therefore, the statement that younger children struggle more with maintaining attention aligns with our understanding of cognitive development across childhood.