A Guide for Different Ages on How to Help Children Develop Executive Function

We usually hear about executive skills in the context of mitigating the executive dysfunction that many teenagers and adults experience. But the executive function does not arise only in adolescence to threaten the efforts of youth. These are skills that we can use and practice from childhood.

In The Emotionally Intelligent Child, educator Rachel Katz and researcher Helen Shwe Hadani include tips for parents to help children of all ages develop their executive skills through choice, agency, free play, role play, planning, and reflection.

What is an executive function?

Executive function (EF) is a set of cognitive skills that help control behavior, inhibition or self-control, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and concentration or attention. Here’s more from Katz and Hadani on each EF component:

• Inhibition or Self-Control: Your child uses this skill when he can control his first impulse to do something harmful. By resisting the urge to hit, grab, or otherwise act negatively, they can consciously choose a more productive action.
• Cognitive Flexibility: This is the child’s ability to “think outside the box”. They can creatively solve problems using non-traditional materials or changing social relationships.
• Working Memory: These are the bits of information that we keep in our heads so that we can quickly and easily access them. Working memory helps children follow a plan and connect unrelated ideas to come up with new ideas.
• Focus or Attention: Focus helps us ignore distractions in order to focus on the task and reach the goal.

“EF helps us plan and prioritize tasks to balance our workflow, think about the role others will play in completing tasks, and set and achieve goals. We need to use EF skills in almost everything we do — when teaching, interacting with others, doing something limited in time, etc., write Katz and Hadani.

Start noticing when you or your child is having trouble: Is there a specific EF skill in play? When things are going well, what EF skills work for you and how can you recognize that?

Remember that even if children are too young to use certain skills, it is never too early for you to model those skills. Children learn by watching, listening and imitating what they see and hear, write Katz and Hadani.

How to support executive activities at different stages

babies

• Give them a choice and give them freedom of action. Offer two options for food, toys, books, clothes, etc. Have them point or reach for their choice.
• Encourage free play and pretend play . Pay attention to what your child is interested in and support his attempts to gain physical access to objects that he reaches for.
• Help them plan and reflect. Tell them when they reach a goal, such as crawling to get to a toy or pulling furniture.

kids

• Give them a choice and give them freedom of action. Let them participate in family decisions, such as which movie to watch or which animals to visit at the zoo first.
• Encourage free play and pretend play. Give them props for pretend play, such as dolls, costumes, houses, and figurines. Tell me about their game.
• Help them plan and reflect. Give them the opportunity to come up with a simple plan, such as deciding what to do in the last five minutes on the playground, or deciding which direction to go down the block.

preschoolers

• Give them a choice and give them freedom of action. Give them craft or building materials like LEGO or blocks and give them free rein to create whatever they want.
• Encourage free play and pretend play. Do not overdo it with lessons and sports. Let them create their own game scenarios.
• Help them plan and reflect. Ask them to formulate a goal, such as building a monster out of bricks. Help them work out the details of their plan, such as what parts they want to build and what materials to use.

School children

• Give them a choice and give them freedom of action. By this point, the children had developed some distinct personal interests. Support their interests and freedom of action by watching videos, reading books, and participating in games and creativity related to these interests.
• Encourage free play and pretend play . Continue to support role playing and the free plan for kids.
• Help them plan and reflect. When your child completes a project, talk to them about what went well and what could have been done better.