We got some great feedback on our series of posts on Executive Function Difficulties and how it impacts children and the adults who care for them.
But parents felt like they were left hanging. Now that we have a good understanding about Executive Function Difficulties, what are we supposed to do about it?
Parentingsimply.com is committed to helping parents manage the little and big problems of family life. In our signature fashion, our next few posts will discuss some simple tips to help parents help children manage their difficulties in the area of Executive Functions.
Here are our first 2 tips:
1. Give Choices
Giving choices is a skill that should be used regularly for all children whether they struggle with organization or not. This technique gives control to children and also helps focus a child to the task at hand. Implicit in the choice is the fact that the child needs to fulfill the task, but gets to choose how. Giving choices is also beneficial because it diffuses conflict and lets children assert their independence in a healthy way. It exercises their brains helping them concentrate, by making them think and solve simple everyday problems.
Anything can be a choice, even things that may seem silly to adults.
- Do you want to brush your teeth now or in 5 minutes?
- Do you want the blue or the red cup?
- Do you want to play with the legos or the ball?
It is also a good idea to make a habit of asking children:
- What do you think would work better?
- Seems like you have a few options.
- Are your comfortable with this?
- Will this work better for you?
2. Give children some control
Adults have a real need to feel in charge. It is a basic human need. We all need to feel capable and it is comforting to know that we can impact our environment in positive ways. Children also like to feel in charge. One way to enable that in a safe and respectful way is to let them sequence their activities. To encourage this, parents can say:
“Bedtime is at 7pm. What would be a good time to start getting ready if you want to play a bit, brush your teeth, get into pajamas and read a bedtime book?”
The object is not to have military precision when going to bed. It is just an exercise in helping him take charge of his time and his responsibilities and to feel more in control.
Stay tuned for our next post with more tips on how to Organize The Disorganized Child!
Want to learn more?