- By Eden
- Salley
Executive Function Unmasked: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Little Superheroes
This article is part of our weekly series, Executive Function Tips for Families.
The Power of Executive Function
Imagine your preschooler as a little superhero, equipped with a powerful tool called executive function (EF). This tool helps them conquer everyday challenges. As a parent, helping them develop this superhero skill set can influence your child’s development and future academic success. Let’s learn more about how you can support EF growth in your young superhero.
What is Executive Function?
Executive function refers to cognitive processes that help children regulate their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve goals. EF skills support goal-directed behaviors such as planning, focusing, and self-regulation. These core skills include working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility, and are foundational for academic success and social-emotional development.
Before We Continue:
This article draws insights from the research report: Ackerman, D. J., & Friedman-Krauss, A. H. (2017). “Preschoolers’ Executive Function: Importance, Contributions, Research Needs and Assessment Options,” Educational Testing Service, 17(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12148.
The Study's Focus
This study highlights key influences on EF development, including child-specific traits, environmental factors, and activities that foster these critical skills. Understanding these factors can help parents create supportive environments that promote their child’s EF growth.
Key Findings: What the Research Tells Us About EF Development
- The Superhero Skill Set:
- EF is like a set of superpowers in your child’s brain, helping them make decisions, solve problems, and stay focused.
- Brain Development: The Origin Story
- Just like superheroes need training to hone their powers, EF skills develop as your child’s brain matures. During the preschool years (ages 3 to 6) the prefrontal cortex (the front part of the brain) grows quickly. This rapid growth prepares their brain for EF skills like inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.
- Environmental Influences: The Supportive Sidekicks
- While brain development plays a critical role in EF skill-building, a child’s environment is equally important. Supportive and engaging interactions with parents, teachers, and peers provide opportunities for children to practice self-regulation, problem-solving, and persistence.
- Activities Matter: Training Grounds for Superpowers
- Your child’s daily routines and structured activities provide valuable opportunities to strengthen EF skills. Imaginative play, puzzle-solving, and reading are all activities that contribute to the improvement of cognitive flexibility and working memory. Your child’s engagement in imaginative play teaches them how to plan, understand rules, and adapt to changing situations.
- Parental Support: Guiding Your Hero Throughout their Journey
- As a parent, you can help guide your little superhero on their journey by doing the following:
- Being Patient: Remaining patient as your little superhero grows into their self regulation, focus, and organization powers helps your child better cultivate EF skills successfully.
- Celebrating Victories: Celebrate their victories, no matter how small, while providing a safe space for them to explore and learn.
- Creating Routines: Creating routines for your little hero is important in helping your child build EF skills. Try organizing your child’s mornings into a consistent set of activities such as waking up, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, and then getting dressed.
- As a parent, you can help guide your little superhero on their journey by doing the following:
- Early Education: Enrolling in Hero Academy
- Preschool programs can be a great way to increase your child’s EF skills. They allow children to practice language, literacy, and math skills which in turn advances their EF skills and facilitates connections with their peers.
Actionable Steps for Parents: Building EF Skills Through Everyday Activities
There are many ways for parents and caregivers to help children develop their EF superpowers. They do not have to be complicated, nor require a lot of materials or preparation! Consider the following strategies to support your child’s EF development:
- One way to help your child develop EF skills is to give them age appropriate chores.
- Something as simple as picking up toys or taking their plate from the table to the sink can aid the development of your child’s executive function.
- Encourage pretend play, where your child can use their imagination and practice problem-solving.
- Read: Unleashing the Power of Pretend Play: The Batman Effect and Beyond” for more information on the importance of play in increasing EF skills.
- Physical activity can help your child improve their self-control and ability to pay attention.
- Play: “Stop, Go, or Go Slow?”, a fun game that uses listening rules to encourage attention, and gives your child the opportunity to practice the skill of controlling their actions.
- Help your child expand their working memory and cognitive flexibility.
- Play: “Let’s Have a Scavenger Hunt”, a fun way for your child to practice working memory, planning, and adjusting their thinking as they play.
Conclusion
As a parent, you play a key role in your preschooler’s executive function development. By understanding EF basics and providing a supportive environment, you empower your little superhero to soar to new heights.
