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The ability for children and adolescents to pay attention to a task, activity, event, and/or skill, is an executive functioning skill that requires children and adolescents to focus their attention while ignoring outside or unrelated discussions, actions, noise, etc. Executive function uses working memory, self-control, and flexible thinking and is responsible for other skills such as organizing and planning, staying on task, listening to other people’s perspectives, and regulating emotion. Children are not born with executive functioning skills and need to learn them throughout their lives through regular, daily practice.
According to Peg Dawson and Richard Guare, “When we teach children a procedure to follow to clean their bedroom, get ready for school in the morning, complete independent classwork, or bring materials home from school, we are giving them a process they can use on their own eventually in the absence of adult cuing or supervision and across different situations.”
Participation and performance gymnastics, such as recreational and team gymnastics, provides an opportunity for children and teens to work on their executive functioning skills, as they learn to listen to instructions, stay focused on the task or activity, receive feedback from their coach and peers, and regulate their emotions throughout the lesson.
For parents who are new to gymnastics or want to get their children or teenagers started with gymnastics, start with the beginning participation class at our gym!
Try This At Home:
Develop a daily practice where the entire family learns and refines their executive functioning skills, such as being responsible for daily chores or making their own breakfast (or breakfast for the siblings) in the morning. Skills should be age-appropriate but even four- and five-year-olds can get a banana for breakfast on their own and learn to throw the banana peel away.
Teach the children and teenagers to cook from a recipe–a homemade pizza, hamburgers, cupcakes, etc.–from start to finish. Start with simple recipes that don’t require long focusing time, if needed, and work your way up to more complicated recipes that take longer to complete.
Give the teenagers with driver’s licenses the family’s weekly shopping responsibilities, including teaching them to develop meal plans, keep track of food that needs to be bought, and money budgeting skills. Or, bring the teenagers and children on grocery trips and teach them how to effectively and efficiently shop.
Want to Learn More? Read This!
Ellen Galinsky’s Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs
Peg Dawson and Richard Guare’s Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention
Vincent J. Monastra’s Teaching Life Skills to Children and Teens with ADHD
Work Cited
Dawson, Peg, and Richard Guare. Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention. The Guilford Press, 2010. LINK
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