What are executive function skills and why are they important for children to learn?
All parents marvel at their children’s development - from helpless newborns to fearless toddlers, from precocious preschoolers to inquisitive primary schoolers, and beyond.
It’s not just the physical development that takes place in such a short time that’s astonishing. The way a child’s brain grows during this time and how they acquire language, develop cognitively and emotionally, and interact with other children and adults is truly remarkable, too.
A child is able to recount memories with startling precision. From throwing wild tantrums at age two, a three-year-old gradually shows more self-control, an increased awareness that some behaviors are not acceptable, and a better understanding of their own feelings and those of others. From babbling, cooing, and pointing at pictures in books just a few years ago, a seven-year-old has an improved ability to hold on to information, focus their thinking, filter distractions, resist acting impulsively, solve small problems, and make their own decisions.
An important set of skills is responsible for these (and more) phenomenal cognitive developments in a child, sparking the thirst for lifelong learning. These skills are known as executive function skills.
What are executive function skills?
Think of executive function as “the CEO of the brain,” that creates, implements, and manages all important decisions. The Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, compares executive function skills to a busy airport’s air control system. Just as an air control system safely coordinates and manages the arrivals and departures of multiple aircrafts, the brain requires executive function skills to manage many processes, such as “filtering distractions, prioritizing tasks, setting and achieving goals, and controlling impulses.”
There are three core executive function skills:
- Self-control
- Working memory
- Cognitive flexibility
This skill set is crucial for children to successfully manage their daily activities and is essential for learning and development. Moreover, all these skills are highly interrelated and must coordinate with each other smoothly for proper overall function. The development of these skills takes time, well into adolescence, but every step builds the foundation for the next.
Therefore, if early executive function skills do not develop well in a child, it may result in later learning or social difficulties.
This is why it’s important for parents to support the development of these skills in their children from a young age
