Executive function skills:Our brain’s control center

	What are Executive Function Skills? Executive Function Skills are cognitive skills crucial for learning and development. These skills enable positive behaviors and allow us to make healthy choices for ourselves and our families. Three of the foundational skills include: flexible attention, working memory, and inhibitory control.
Why are Executive Function Skills Important? Executive Function Skills help us form a foundation for self regulation and help build social emotional skills. These skills help us: adapt to new situations, sustain or shift our attention quickly, manage and retain information, focus, and regulate our emotions.
	​How can I help my child develop their Executive Function Skills? Great news! Children aren’t born with these skills; they can be taught. You can encourage your child to participate in activities that require these skills so they can continue to practice and develop them. You can establish routines, model positive social behaviors, encourage creative play and social connections, teach them how to cope with stress, and create opportunities for self-directing their own actions, with decreasing adult supervision.