🧠 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

👉 These challenges are often linked to the development of executive functions, the brain's control tower for managing thoughts, emotions, and actions.

📌 In neuropsychology, executive functions are considered high-level abilities essential for goal-directed behaviour.

📌They're not innate but skills that must be explicitly taught and nurtured.

Let's explore the four key executive functions our children need to develop:

🔺 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲: Keeping information in mind-related to attention and focus

🔺𝐈𝐧𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 (𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥): Managing impulses and thinking before acting.

🔺𝐂𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Adapting and Shifting Perspectives in New Situations.

🔺𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠: Laying out steps to achieve goals.

These functions are critical for complex learning and daily life management.

Children gradually master these skills with guidance and support. Instead of labelling a child as forgetful, acknowledge that they are still learning to organise and plan.

🌱 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬:

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

However, individuals with executive function challenges might find everyday tasks like tracking time, estimating task durations, and making plans difficult.

That's why it's crucial to integrate executive function training into our educational systems. This isn't just about academic success but equipping our children with lifelong skills.

📚 Action for Parents and Educators:

To all parents and educators, let's commit to understanding and supporting the development of executive functions in our children. Let's transform our approach from merely instructing to actively engaging in learning. By doing so, we're preparing our children for a successful and balanced life.