Help Your Child Focus by Building Executive Functioning Skills

If you’ve ever had to remind your child to stay on task, you’re not alone. Every parent has to encourage their child to do things they don’t want to, but that shouldn’t be the only interaction you have with your child. This doesn’t mean that your child is lazy or isn’t trying to focus. But how do you know if there’s something deeper going on like issues with their executive functioning skills? Start by learning the following:

• What executive functioning is
• Why children struggle with executive functioning skills
• What children qualify for executive functioning programs
• How executive functioning programs help families
• Executive functioning activities parents can use at home

As a team of pediatric therapists, we have helped countless families support children who struggle to focus by building executive functioning skills. Let’s dive into the signs that your child needs help developing their executive functioning skills and how you can help them do so.

What is Executive Functioning?

When your child focuses on an assignment, makes a plan, or finishes a task, that is their executive functioning at work. Their brains are regulating their emotions and analyzing everything around them so they can set and carry out goals. Some of the key executive functioning skills include:

Working Memory

As adults, we remember simple things every day, but only because our brains have learned how to store and apply that information at a moment’s notice. This is known as a working memory, and it is a skill that takes time to develop. A child’s working memory capacity is still developing, so it takes repeated instructions and activities to get information to stick. But as time goes on, their memory capacity expands, and their ability to apply what they’ve learned becomes easier.

Self-Control

Young children are naturally impulsive. They might interrupt others because they’re too excited to talk, have difficulty waiting their turn for a fun activity, or even throw a fit when they can’t have what they want. Children act this way because their brain systems that regulate behavior are still developing, so they have a harder time controlling themselves, especially when emotions run high. So how are children supposed to develop self-control? One way is by observing the adults around them and how they don’t talk over others or cut people in line. But more than that, caretakers teach children what to do when they don’t want to wait anymore. This could include breathing exercises as well as games where they have to practice taking turns and learn that it’s not the end of the world.

Organization

When you think of children, organization likely isn’t the first thing to come to mind. This is because children haven’t learned how to organize their thoughts or belongings yet, leading to a very messy life. But organizing things takes planning, memory, and attention, all of which are still developing in young children. However, when children have a consistent routine where they are expected to clean up at certain times, they slowly learn important organizational skills since they have to use them every day. The more predictable their daily schedule is, the easier it is for children to learn this skill.

Task Initiation

Starting a task requires planning, focus, and motivation all at once; that’s on top of managing any emotions that come up during the transition from one activity to another. And if a task feels too big, unclear, or overwhelming, children are much more likely to avoid doing it. This leads to procrastination and parents having to constantly repeat instructions so the child can begin. The key to helping children start tasks is to break the activity into smaller steps. Give your child a specific first action like, “Put your toys in the toy bin,” instead of “Clean your room.” When children know exactly how and where to begin, they are much more likely to start tasks.

Ability to Pay Attention

Children are constantly processing new information from their environment. Their brains are still learning how to filter distractions and stay focused on one task. You might notice your child struggles to stay on task, gets easily distracted by sounds or movement, or maybe even jumps between activities without finishing any of them. Their ability to pay attention will improve with practice, structure, and the right environment. Try working in short, focused time blocks with breaks in between to ease your child into focusing for long periods of time. Remember, the goal is to help your child experience success in small, achievable steps that can be gradually increased over time.

All of these skills are vital to helping children take an idea and turn it into an action. Without these skills, children face many difficulties in school, social settings, and daily life.

Why Children Struggle with Executive Functioning Skills

It’s a common misconception that children who don’t do well in school or stay on top of daily tasks are lazy, but this is rarely the case. More often than not, their brain is still learning how to manage tasks and emotions. There are many reasons your child could be struggling to learn executive functioning skills, and it’s best to consult your pediatrician to determine what exactly is going on. Generally speaking, though, children with executive functioning difficulties may experience challenges related to the following:

ADHD

One of the most common reasons for delays in executive functioning is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is because ADHD causes parts of the brain responsible for executive functioning, motor response inhibition, and regulation of memory to develop more slowly. Additionally, children with ADHD tend to have strong connectors to their selective visual attention system, causing their brain to try to focus on whatever is in their line of vision, not just the task at hand. As a result of these brain differences, children with ADHD often have a harder time with:

• Staying focused
• Following directions
• Completing tasks
• Managing time

Children may be trying their best to stay on task and do what they are told, but ADHD can make it more difficult for their brain to do so. This can cause you and your child to feel frustrated, especially when they are actively trying to focus but can’t seem to do so.

Sensory Overload

Sometimes the issue isn’t attention at all but sensory overload. Children who experience sensory challenges often struggle with executive functioning skills because their brain is too busy trying to stay regulated. Different noises, textures, lights, and movements can easily overwhelm these children, causing their brain to shift into survival mode. When this happens, their focus drops, memory weakens, and task completion becomes very difficult.

Picture this: Timmy is trying to work on a coloring assignment, but the fabric of his new jacket is making him itch all over. Not only that, but the teacher decided to play some instrumental music at a volume that was just a few decibels too loud for his preference. And now one of his classmates is chattering next to him about what he’s going to do this weekend. Timmy’s brain races, trying to decide what to pay attention to, causing him to focus on all the unpleasant sensations at once. Suddenly, the teacher asks everyone to turn in their drawings. 30 minutes have passed and Timmy couldn’t do anything because his brain was too busy trying to focus on everything.

Brain Developmental Differences

Executive functioning skills are some of the last skills the brain develops. In fact, these skills continue growing into the teenage years and even early adulthood. Every child is different, which means some children will just develop these skills more slowly than others. This isn’t due to lack of trying; your child’s brain just works at a different pace. As a result, your child may need more reminders and to be reassured and supported during multi-step tasks. Their brain is still learning how to hold more information together and act on it. The good news is that these executive functioning skills can be taught and strengthened over time.

Lack of Training

Some parents send their child off to preschool or kindergarten for the first time assuming the teachers will straighten out any executive functioning issues the child may have. This is a severe misconception. Teachers are focused on helping all the children in their class learn, so if one or two children have trouble focusing, chances are teachers will just tell the parents. And it’s no wonder children today have trouble staying on track when they are constantly surrounded by tablets, televisions, and phones that can stimulate them with games and videos. Modern children are struggling now more than ever before to learn to focus and ignore outside stimuli, especially when the adults in their lives assume the other ones are taking care of the issue.

Does My Child Qualify for Executive Functioning Programs?

How do you know if your child needs help from a pediatric therapist or not? If your child’s struggles with executive functioning are consistent, affecting their daily life, and causing frustration for your family, it’s time to seek professional help. For example:

• A neurotypical child will complain about doing their homework, but a child struggling with executive functioning won’t be able to do anything unless they are directly supervised and reminded to stay on task.
• A neurotypical child might be sluggish in the morning and be slow getting ready, but a child with executive functioning difficulties will get distracted between every step and will require your help to get ready on time.
• A neurotypical child might throw fits during transitions when they are younger than three years old, but children with executive functioning difficulties will continue to have meltdowns no matter how many transitions they’ve experienced before.

To treat executive functioning issues, you may need to see your child’s pediatrician to get an ADHD diagnosis, but this isn’t required to enroll in executive functioning programs run by pediatric therapists. If your child is struggling with functional skills, they qualify for help.

How Executive Functioning Programs Help Families

In executive functioning programs, pediatric therapists help children develop the skills they will need for the rest of their lives. How do they do this? By following this process:

1. Professional evaluation: Parents, teachers, and sometimes the child will be given an executive functioning assessment to determine what skills need to be addressed.
2. Personalized plan: At The TEACH Group, we don’t provide cookie cutter solutions. We take what we learned from the evaluation and create a plan with personalized executive functioning activities to meet your child’s specific goals.
3. Skill building sessions: Therapy sessions allow your child to practice real-life skills in a safe space and may even include group sessions where children can grow together.
4. Parent support: Helping your child develop is a full-time job, which is why we provide parents with executive functioning activities they can do at home to continue nurturing the skills children learn during sessions.

This approach doesn’t just help children focus so they can do well in school; it helps them grow the executive functioning skills that will help them thrive.

Executive Functioning Activities Parents Can Use at Home

You don’t have to wait for a diagnosis or the first appointment with a pediatric therapist to help your child. Try these simple executive functioning activities at home to help your child learn to focus, manage tasks, and regulate themselves:

Break Tasks into Small Steps

Giving your child a long list of things to do or even a generalized instruction like “Clean your room,” can quickly overwhelm them. Children with executive functioning difficulties won’t know where to start, often leading to tasks not getting done at all. Instead, give them small steps like, “Pick up your toys, then put your clothes in the hamper.” This instruction feels much more manageable to your child and provides clear directions they can follow.

Use Visual Checklists

Sometimes children get off task and have trouble remembering what they were supposed to be doing in the first place. Help your child by writing a checklist for them including a breakdown of what tasks they need to complete. This gives them a visual reminder of what they need to do and supports independence. Instead of asking you what they are supposed to be doing, they can look at the checklist.

Create Simple Routines

Routines reduce stress, which is why child (and adult) brains love them. The more often you perform the same tasks in a row, the more likely it is that your child will remember to do them. This helps improve their memory retention and ability to focus since they don’t have to worry about what’s coming next.

Use Timers

Timers can help children stay on track, so long as they aren’t too long. Start by setting a timer for five or ten minutes, telling your child to use that time to pick up their toys before taking a break. Don’t be surprised if your child gets distracted the first few times you use this method. Gently guide them back to the task at hand, reminding them that in a few minutes they’ll be able to take a break. This will gradually build up their ability to focus.

Help Your Child Develop Their Executive Functioning Skills with The TEACH Group

When your child struggles, you do too. It can feel like an uphill battle to get your child to focus and complete necessary tasks, but you don’t have to do this alone. We provide expert-led executive functioning programs for children who haven’t developed these important skills yet. Schedule an evaluation today to get your child the support they need to develop important skills for their success.

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