Executive Functioning for Little Ones

Executive function comes from the frontal lobe of the brain.  This part of the brain is a little slower to develop than the rest of the brain, that's why two year olds act like two year olds!  Executive functioning includes things like focused attention, using a working memory and practicing self control.  Development of executive functioning stimulates self-regulation.  We can help our little ones develop a foundation for healthy development of these important skills.  You may already be enjoying some of these activities with your child, now you will understand why they are so important!  These activities are suggested for children six to eighteen months old.

Lap games for younger infants

• Peekaboo - hide and find games like this exercise working memory, because they challenge the baby to remember who is hiding and they also practice basic self-control skills as, in some variations, the baby waits for the adult to reveal him or herself.  In other versions, the baby controls the timing of the reveal; this providing important practice regulating the tension around an expected surprise.
• Trot, Trot to Boston; This is the Way the Farmer Rides; Pat-a-Cake - Predictable rhymes that end with a stimulating yet expected surprise are well-loved.  Infants exercise working memory as they develop familiarity with the rhyme and practice anticipating a surprise, inhibiting their anticipatory reactions while managing high levels of stimulation.

Hiding Games 

• Hide a toy under a cloth and encourage the infant to look for it.  Once infants can find the toy quickly, hide it, show the child that you have moved it, and encourage the child to find it.  Make more moved to increase the challenge.  As the child remembers what was there and mentally tracks the move, he or she exercises working memory.
• Older infants may enjoy hiding themselves and listening to you search loudly for them while they track your location mentally.
• You can also hide an object without showing an older infant where it is and then allow the infant to search for it.  He or she will practice keeping track of searched locations.
• Another challenging version of these games involves putting a set of cups on a turntable (or "lazy Susan"), hiding an object under a cup, then spinning the turntable.  Hiding more than one object can also increase the challenge.

Imitation or copying games

• Taking turns making simple gestures, organizing toys in a certain way, asking children to copy you, building simple buildings with blocks and knocking them down all develop the ability to keep track of actions, remember them and take turns.
• As infants' skills improve make the patterns they copy more complicated.
• Adults can also demonstrate the ways to play with toys, like making a toy horse gallop or rocking a baby doll.  This introduces the concept of using toys as symbols for real objects.

Simple Role Play

• Take turns with any activity that interests the child,  The benefits of this are learning the basics of imaginary play, practice working memory, self-control, and selective attention.
• Children can remember and play out more complicated roles as they get older.  They will also begin to initiate activities.

Fingerplays

• Songs or chants with simple hand motions are a lot of fun for infants, and develop self-control and working memory as well as language.  Infants can learn to copy the movements of a song and, with practice, will remember the sequence.  Some examples are Eensy Weensy Spider, Where is Thumbkin?,  and Open, Shut Them.

Conversations

• Start by following the infant's attention and naming aloud the things holding your little one's attention.  The infant will likely maintain his or her attention a little longer, practicing actively focusing and sustaining attention.
• As infants get older, pointing out and talking about interesting objects or events can help them learn to focus their attention on something the adult has identified.  As babies learn language, they also develop their memory of what is said, eventually mapping words to objects and actions.

This information is taken from developingchild.harvard.edu.