Executive Functions

Want to Give Your Kids an Advantage? Build Executive Functions

Every parent wants their kids to have the best shot at succeeding at whatever their chosen path may be.  So we try to give them all of the right opportunities.  Some go to tutors, buy complicated programs, or drill through flashcards, but one of the best predictors of success is one that can be regularly built through play.

Study after study has displayed the influential role of executive functions in success over the long run.  Perhaps the most well-known is what is commonly referred to as the Marshmallow Test.  Back in the 60s,  Stanford researchers essentially gave preschoolers the choice of having one marshmallow now or two marshmallows later.  (And did I mention these little ones were left alone with the marshmallows until “later” arrived?)

Researchers followed their subjects for decades and found that those preschoolers who could wait longer, did better academically, reported less drug-use, and found greater life satisfaction into adulthood.
It makes sense that efficient executive functions would be a strong predictor of other successes.  Executive functions, those functions of the prefrontal cortex, include impulse-control, judgement, focus, and flexible thinking. Children with these strengths will listen in class when there are distractions, will take the time to look for right answers beyond first-glance answers, and will get their school work done when they’d rather be playing video games.  They’re better able to take their other talents and strengths, build on them, apply them intentionally, and use them in working toward their goals.

The good news is that many researchers believe that these self-regulation skills can be increased through practice and experience.  Perhaps the better news is that this often takes the shape of play!  Here are some ideas for fun ways to build executive functions:

Play Dance and Freeze.  You know the drill.  The music plays and everyone dances.  The music stops and everyone freezes.  Children have to resist the impulse to keep moving and stay frozen instead.  The same idea can be used for other stop and go games like Red Light, Green Light and Snowmen at Night or for using stop and go signs while singing.

Simon Says.  It seems easy enough.  Do what you’re told, right?  Except that you have to focus and pay attention to detail.  Instead of being distracted by the directions alone, children have to listen for that key phrase, “Simon Says”…

Opposite Games.  I love playing these with young children.  Often, I’ll say,“Listen to my directions and do what I say, but don’t let me trick you with what I do.”  So I’ll say, “Touch your nose,”while I touch my ears.  Can they fight the urge and focus only on my words?  It’s tough for those little ones, but they get better with practice!  Similar games have been played where children say the opposite of what they see on picture cards (night for day, day for night) or do opposite actions (x whenever the adult does y and y whenever the adult does x). These games require kids to focus on what’s important and resist what is likely their first impulse.

Pretend Play .  Dramatic play is full of benefits for young children, not least of which is the flexibility of thinking and self-control required for a child to take on another character and play out the role.  Even better, as young children build their play scripts with other children, they begin to negotiate and share ideas and build a plan for play — the next avenue in building executive functions.

Are you providing opportunities for your children to build their executive functions??