Others seem to flit from task to task or toy to toy without seeming to pay attention to anything for more than a few seconds. It would be a mistake to think that only the child who stays with one task is learning effectively. One learns in greater depth. The other learns in greater breadth. Selective attention in children is a problem that almost every parent has encountered.
Selective attention can cause problems in other ways too.
The information was perceived but not attended to and thus, does not enter the child's thought processes. Match the information presentation to the child's style of attending. The more we experience, the more we learn. Learning is enhanced when we are able to use our preferred style of perception. Learning is enhanced when information comes to us organized according to our preferred thinking style.