Executive Functions Archives

Lessons from the longest study on human development

July 13, 2021By illac_admin

Parenting has never been easy and we all wish there is a manual that guides us on this tedious and ever-so-challenging journey. As a matter of fact, plenty of such guides are out there but they tend to espouse different principles and guidelines and they can be very overwhelming. No fret. Here’s the ultimate parenting summary from the findings of studying 70,000 children across five generations. Ready? Get your notebook out!

1. Be responsive and interested parents.

Studies have shown that small things that parents do, like talking and listening to a child, responding to them warmly, teaching them their letters and numbers, taking them on trips and visits, are associated with good outcomes for children. In one study, children whose parents were reading to them daily when they were five and then showing an interest in their education at the age of 10, were significantly less likely to be in poverty at the age of 30 than those whose parents weren’t doing those things.

2. Send your kids to bed at regular times.

Studies have shown that those children who were going to bed at different times were more likely to have behavioural problems. In fact, sleep has been found by researchers to affect executive functioning and children with a lack of sleep or irregular sleeping habits tend to suffer from lower inhibitory and impulse control. One more bad news, one study showed that catch-up sleep on a weekend has no particular benefits to executive functions; it might even have an adverse effect on self-regulation in children. Therefore, send your kids to bed at regular timings and do not rely on catch-up sleep on the weekends!

3. Leave it to your child to choose what to read.

Scientists found that children who were reading for pleasure, be it a magazine, a picture book, or a story book, were more likely to perform better in school in all subjects and not just English. So do not stop your child from reading Geronimo Stilton or Whimpy Kid thinking they are useless or too simple! Whatever they read doesn’t matter, what’s more important is that they read.

In summary, the ultimate guide to parenting: Give them your attention for at least 30min a day, send them to bed at regular timings, allow them to go everywhere with a book (instead of an electronic device!), whatever the title. Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming a GREATER PARENT.

How to maximise your child’s online learning

July 7, 2021By illac_admin

Advancements in technology coupled with the pandemic has led to an exponential shift towards online learning. We are increasingly seeing children having Zoom lessons with their teachers and even co-curricular activities being carried out on screen. With more time spent looking at their devices, it is inevitable that children may end up being distracted rather than being focused on their studies.

For you to maximise your child’s online learning, here are tips you can utilise!

1.Set online rules with your child.

Have a talk with your child before online lessons to come up with some rules they can adhere to during their screen time. Have them write it down on paper and even decorate it to leave a positive impression. Afterwards, paste it up somewhere visible. Some rules can include – “Give your teacher your fullest attention”, “Answer questions”, “Listen to teacher’s instructions” etc. Reward your child with praises and even little stickers when they follow the rules they have created! These rules help sharpen their self-regulation and inhibitory control as well!

2. During lessons, be close by.

Being in the vicinity of your child during their online lessons can help you monitor their progress. You do not necessarily have to be constantly supervising them, frequent check-ins on how they are doing should suffice. During the check-ins, observe if they are paying attention and aptly engage them on what they have learnt by asking them questions related to their lesson. Your looming presence will also encourage your child to stay focused.

3. Ask your child questions after the lesson.

Building on the second point, you can also have your child tell you about what they had learnt during their lesson. Add onto it as well with your own knowledge whenever possible to encourage mental flexibility! Displaying a positive interest in your child’s learning will motivate them to wow you every session, guaranteeing heightened attention during their learning.

4. Check if they have additional work on-line or off-line.

After a lesson, your child’s teacher/instructor may give them work to do. Check if they have any and if they do, encourage your child to finish up their work diligently within a given duration (memory of fresh knowledge tend to slip out of mind without practice after the 3rd day). This trains your child to stick to a fixed routine and develop the beneficial habit of completing their work first before partaking in other recreational activities. This can help your child better retain the information during their lesson as they can apply it immediately to their work while the memory is still fresh (within 3 days!).

It can be tough having to juggle between your child’s learning and other pressing commitments. Knowing that you have done the absolute best for both you and your child is the way to go! Moderation is key, pace yourself and your child to avoid burning out while learning or working from home and stop to refresh and energise when needed.

Home Practices to Improve Working Memory of Children Ages 3 to 6

April 28, 2021By illac_admin

With society’s increasingly high standards in education and academics, it is without saying that we are in a relentless rat race to provide the best education for our children. Whilst having enrichment lessons may suffice, why not go the extra mile to practice at home by honing your child’s executive functions.

Executive Functions are mental skills which include Working Memory, Mental Flexibility and Inhibitory Control; which the lack thereof can have detrimental impact on our daily lives and potentially, academic performance. Executive functioning skills develop exponentially in early childhood and into adolescence, therefore it is paramount to prime our young ones early.

To start off, let’s focus on Working Memory, where the brain is engaged to hold multiple information at the same time while simultaneously processing it (Miller, 1960). An active stimulation of working memory helps reduce irrelevant information that interferes with the task at hand (Brogaard, 2020) which will be extremely helpful when your child enters Primary School.

Here are some simple home practices you and your child can do to improve Working Memory:

Games

Memory games such as Spot the Differences can be fun and interactive ways for your child to improve their working memory. Show your child 2 similar looking images side by side and have them describe the differences they saw. Amp up the difficulty level by showing them just one picture for a few seconds, reintroduce both pictures and then have them describe the one they saw.

Why not get creative as well with different items in the house, by removing or swapping items around, ask your child if they see anything out of place.

Another game would be Card Matching! Use any deck of cards you have on hand such as Uno or Old Maid that has pairs of identical cards. Flip them around and have a mini competition with your child to see who can match up all the cards first! For an even greater challenge, have them place the cards back at their original positions after the game ends.

Apply Memorisation Tactics

Such tactics can come in the form of active reading, visualisation, and making connections.

When reading, encourage your child to read out loud and ask questions related to the material to prolong the retention of information.
Prompt your child to create images of what they have read or seen in their head so that they have a mental picture which they can refer to.
Help your child make fun connections to better remember information. This can be done through the use of Mnemonics (e.g., Abbreviating the Colours of the Rainbow into a made-up name Roy. G. Biv) or associating a tune to the spelling of a complex word.

Chores

Yes, you heard me right. Chores are fantastic ways to improve working memory. Do keep in mind that working memory is not just about cognitively solving arithmetical problems, it is also evident in whether one is able to bake a cake without forgetting the steps.

Have your child build up the good habit of writing down what they can do to help at home and guide them in organising this information into smaller pieces. Simpler exercises can include giving them instructions on which of their toys go into the box first and have them pack it in the correct arrangement. You can also have them assist you with preparing meals by reciting the quantity of ingredients without constantly referring to the recipe.

Simple multi-sensory methods like these go a long way and you are also building up a sense of responsibility in them!

At the end of the day, do observe your child and understand what appeals to them and keeps them willing to do more. Every child has their own pace when learning thus as adults, we should provide them with the adequate tools to do so. The list of at-home practices is inexhaustive, like and follow us for many more such recommendations for you.

Executive Functions

Lessons from the longest study on human development

How to maximise your child’s online learning

Home Practices to Improve Working Memory of Children Ages 3 to 6

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