Executive Function FAQ 

By: The RethinkCare Team

Children in class working on an activity with blocks

RethinkCare is excited to launch brand new content focused on executive function in children! Our parent participants directly requested this content, and we are so happy to offer you seven new courses in that area today.

Here are a few frequently asked questions about executive function to help you get familiar with our new content: 

What is executive function? 

Executive function is an umbrella term for a set of skills we use every day to learn, work, and manage our daily lives. These skills help us stay organized, remember things, and manage and prioritize our time. They also help us pay attention, focus on tasks, solve problems, and be flexible. Finally, these skills support our overall self-management, allowing us to be mindful of our behaviors and impulses.  

Why are these skills important for children to learn? 

Executive functioning skills are critical to helping our children grow up to be successful in school, work, and relationships. These skills improve their ability to solve problems, get along with friends, make safe and healthy decisions, achieve goals, and develop many other important life skills.  

How can parents teach these skills? 

Executive functioning skills can take a while to develop and even continue developing into young adulthood! Some children learn these skills through observation. Other children need to be taught these skills more directly. Modeling strong executive functioning skills ourselves by setting alarms to leave for work on time, for example, can help reinforce these habits.

We can practice praising our children when they demonstrate strong executive functioning skills. And, using visual supports, such as checklists or schedules to stay organized, are among the many strategies we discuss in our video and audio sessions. Check out RethinkCare’s executive functioning content for strategies to help your child today! 

How do parents decipher between which skills to teach vs. which may develop naturally?  

For many children, executive functioning skills emerge as they face new experiences, tasks, and challenges. As children are learning and growing, parents may find areas that require additional support and guidance. That can happen when children are having persistent trouble in school, with friends, or around the house. RethinkCare’s content is designed to help parents pinpoint those areas of concern and create strategies to foster further development.  

Support your child’s executive function

If you’re already a member of RethinkCare and need a hand supporting your child’s executive functioning skills, log into the app, click on the headset icon and select ‘Speak with a Parenting Expert’ to schedule a confidential consultation at no cost to you.  

If you’d like to learn more about how RethinkCare can support your business, request a demo.

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