EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS- AMAZING SKILL SETS YOUR CHILD REQUIRES TO SUCCEED IN LIFE

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS:        AMAZING SKILL SETS YOUR CHILD REQUIRES TO SUCCEED IN LIFE

Do you always find yourself complaining that your 5-year-old cannot sit through a 10-minute learning activity without bouncing off, or do you notice that your 9-year-old daughter is highly impulsive and acts without thinking things through?  Do you also find it hard to understand why your 12-year-old son never finishes anything he starts? Or why your kids always search endlessly for their stuff every time they want to use it?  All of these outcomes could most likely be tied to a lack of competency in Executive functioning skills.

 

What are Executive Functioning Skills?

Executive functioning skills are critical life skills that we need to succeed in life and all matters of learning. They are important mental and cognitive skill sets that help humans accomplish set tasks and achieve their desired goals. Some say Executive Functioning skills are the management system of the brain as there is hardly any daily life activity you get involved in that will not require one or two or even all of the executive functioning skills.

Daily tasks such as critical thinking, planning, task initiation, and attention all require executive functioning skills to be undertaken.

As important as executive skills are no child is automatically born with these skills, they are just born with the innate potential to develop these skills. This can only be done when the parents/ caregivers of the child intentionally put up a wholesome learning structure aimed at teaching these skills in a loving and supportive environment.

Executive functioning skills are broadly divided into 3 areas

1.    Working Memory – Also known as short-term memory, working memory is the ability to store information in one’s mind and being able to call it up for future use. For more detailed information on working memory and how to achieve it, click here

2.   Cognitive Flexibility (Flexible Thinking) – As the name implies, it means the ability to be flexible in one’s thinking. The ability to be able to see something in many ways than one. Being able to think about multiple concepts at once.  For more detailed information on  cognitive flexibility and how to achieve it, click here

3.   Impulse/Inhibitory Control (Self-control) – This is the ability to stay focused, avoid distraction and prevent oneself from acting on impulse. For more detailed information on inhibitory control and how to achieve it, click here 

This broad category is like the core of executive functioning the others include:

4.   Attention: this refers to a person’s ability to focus or concentrate on a particular task, assignment, or person for a required length of time. To be able to successfully carry out a task, one needs a high level of focus and concentration to be able to mentally process the input (information received) and output (feedback given). A student requires attention and concentration skills while learning both in and out of the classroom. For more detailed information on gaining attention and focus, click here.

5.   Planning: This aspect of executive functioning skill involves one’s ability to carefully look at future goals and aspirations and set up a detailed working strategy to actualize those goals in order of highest priority. To know more about planning as executive functioning skills click here.

6.   Organization: This involve the ability of a person to keep things in an orderly and tidy manner. As a student, everything he needs to do work is kept in a designated place and properly arranged and easily accessible when he needs to use it. He knows to clean up his workspace after working and his productivity is excellent. Someone who lacks organizational skills will always search endlessly for every item when they need it. If it is a student, he is always looking for a lost/misplaced pen, pencil, crayon, ruler, school bag, stockings, or other personal belongings. This will result in a waste of time, a tardy and messy outlook, and an overall failure in learning.  Click here to learn more about organization as an executive functioning skill.

7.    Time Management: this is the process of properly utilizing time allotted for specific tasks to carry out the given tasks and achieve efficiency, productivity, and success.

 One hallmark of highly successful people is their ability to manage their time properly. If you must yell and scream and push before your kids finish tasks within specified time limits, then you need to start working on their time management skills. These skills can be learned. Click here to learn more about time management as an executive functioning skill.

8.   Task Initiation: this simply refers to the capacity or ability to start a task or project, independently, promptly, effectively, and without procrastination. One of the hardest parts of achieving a goal is kick-starting the project. Willing yourself to start a project/assignment or task is a significant sign that the goal will be achieved. Getting on with doing homework promptly without being told to do so, cleaning his room without any reminders, or reading in preparation for an exam is an indication that a child possesses task initiation skills.  As important as task initiation is, another very important skill that ensures that we move from initiation to completion is Goal Motivated Perseverance. Click here to learn more about task initiation as an executive functioning skill. 

9.   Goal-motivated Perseverance: this skill helps ensure that one stays on an initiated task with commitment and dedication while shunning any other distraction to bring it to completion even if the task gets very difficult. Click here to learn more about Goal Motivated Perseverance as an executive functioning skill.

10. Self-monitoring:  this refers to one’s ability to monitor his overall body presentation, the way he carries himself, behaves, talks, acts, and relates with others. It involves one’s control over his emotions and adjusting them to suit the environment where one is. Self-monitoring skill helps a child to realize when he has done wrong or behaved badly and then he makes an effort to right his wrong. Click here for more information on self-monitoring as an executive functioning skill.

 

Why Are Executive functioning Skills Important?

Ø  Executive functioning skills are required in our day-to-day living/ activities and success. They are life skills needed to perform daily activities like planning a meal at home, brainstorming on how to solve a problem at work, studying extensively for an exam in school, or remaining committed to learning a musical instrument like the violin which might be difficult at first until you attain perfection. Executive functioning skills are at the core of our success in life.

Ø  Executive functioning skills are required to learn other skills. For instance, a child needs, attention, goal-oriented perseverance, and impulse control to learn a musical skill like playing the piano. If attention (an executive function skill) is lacking then he would most likely not be able to focus and learn how to play the instrument. The same goes for other skills

Ø  It enhances problem problem-solving

Ø  It boosts academic performance

Ø  It is needed to critically think and analyze information, manage oneself, time, and other resources

Ø  It is needed to remember important details and finish tasks efficiently.

Effect of Lack of Executive Function Competence. 

A child or even an adult who lacks executive functioning skills will experience the following challenges

  Ø  Lack of concentration and focus                                                                                                               

  Ø Forgetfulness

     Ø Difficulty initiating or  completing a given task

  Ø  Difficulty meeting up with deadlines and which leads to unproductivity

  Ø  Inability or difficulty to store and retrieve given information.

  Ø  Constantly being frustrated and stressed largely due to the inability to think things through and come up with a solution unaided.

  Ø  Constantly losing and misplacing personal belongings

 

How To Help Your Child Develop Executive Functioning Skills. 

1.       Plan a learning session for executive functioning skills and in these sessions have discussions with your child or group discussions with children where you ask thought-provoking questions that get children thinking about the answers. For instance, you can ask them questions like this:

a.       What will you do if you planned a shopping list on a budget and on getting to the market, you find out that your budget cannot cover all that is on your list?

b.      What will you do if you have three tasks (read for an exam you have the next day, play soccer with a friend, and wash mummy’s bathtub) to carry out and you find out that the two hours available to you to perform the tasks won’t be enough?

Here there is no one correct way to answer these questions, the aim is to guide them into critically thinking out an action plan. One way to attempt the second question would be for a child to employ planning and time management whilst prioritizing the tasks at hand. Of course, the exam study is most important and should be done first, then the washing of the bathtub follows and may be done very quickly and efficiently too, after which whatever time that is left will be allocated to soccer. Periodic discussions like this will help these executive functioning skills to be well developed in a child.

2.       Engage in board games like scrabble, chess, monopoly, etc. A lot of these skills come into play when playing board games.

3.       Highlight these skills throughout the day. For instance remind them to stay organized by keeping back used items, manage time well by focusing on tasks at hand, etc.

4.       Encourage activities like cooking, painting, journaling, drawing, etc. (cooking is a very vital tool to use when teaching children executive functioning skills).

5.       Teach and encourage them to use visual clues like daily planners, calendar markers, timers/ alarm clocks, activity boards, stick-it notes, etc.

6.       Engage the children in craft activities that boost executive functioning. Examples of such crafts include drawing, colouring, gardening, etc.

7.       Tell stories, watch videos, and highlight and discuss the parts where executive function skills were displayed.

8.       As the parent, you also need to model and role-play some of these skills and also get the kids to join you in carrying out the activities.

9.       Give rewards when you see them practice any of the executive function skills you have taught and let them know why they earned that reward.

 

CONCLUSION

As a parent, one of the best gifts you can give to your child is to equip them with executive functioning skills. Any child without a mastery of executive functioning skills is a child that has been set up to fail. As a parent no matter the level of education you give to your child if you are not intentional about teaching them executive functioning skills you do them a great disservice.

Did you get any value, please drop a comment, a suggestion, or a question, I would love to hear from you.