My last post was about executive functions, i.e. the skills we need to solve problems, cope with tasks and simply get through everyday life.
Everyday examples include the ability to change planned activities because the situation has changed. You actually wanted to cycle to work, but there’s a storm and rain is forecast. You decide to take the train, but then you hear on the radio that the tracks are blocked by fallen branches. You call the office and say you’re working from home today. The meetings are moved to Zoom, you take off your smart trousers, jump into your joggers and make yourself a cup of tea.
In all of these processes we need the 3 main components of executive functions:
- Working memory
- Self-control
- Mental flexibility
If you would like more detailed definitions of these terms, including various examples, you can read the blog post here.
In this post I want to summarise which executive functions can develop when. In everyday life, it helps me again and again to remind myself what my little ones can (or should) already be able to do – and what they can’t. Because I often notice that we demand a “discipline” from them that we can’t yet expect at their age.
So the next time your child whines about absolutely having to get an ice cream first, throws their toys across the room out of sheer frustration, or seems not to hear you when you ask them to fetch a carton of milk in the supermarket, remember: it is damn hard to regulate needs and feelings, to focus attention on something and to follow instructions.
And I deliberately wrote above: “… which executive functions can develop when”, because how well these functions develop (or don’t) depends on experiences, surroundings and caregivers. So we have an important part to play in helping our children acquire these skills. If you want to know how you can support your child with this, read this blog post. Here, for now, it’s about the development of executive functions, i.e. roughly what we can expect at which age. A table from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2011) gives a good overview. You can find the original here. Below, I summarise the tables and add matching examples:
| Working memory | Examples |
| Adults | |
| Can keep several tasks in mind. | To apply for an ID card, you need an appointment at the local council office, have to provide proof of where you currently live, have to get to the office (by bus, train etc.) and be there at a specific time so as not to lose the appointment. |
| Can remember strategies that may differ depending on the situation. | We greet people differently in different situations: I greet friends differently from strangers or my boss, and cultural differences have to be taken into account (do you shake hands, do you bow, etc.). |
| 5–16 years | |
| The ability develops to search in different places, to remember where you found something and then to explore other places. | Thinking about where Easter eggs might be hidden, remembering during the Easter egg hunt which spots you’ve already checked, and working through the rest. |
| 4–5 years | |
| A child understands that appearance does not necessarily reflect reality. | A cake looks like a football; the tomato sauce looks like blood. |
| 3 years | |
| A child can remember two rules and stick to them. | The red stones go in the bag, the green ones in the bucket. |
| 9–10 months | |
| A child can carry out simple means-to-an-end tasks. | Can take their teddy out of a box. |
| Can carry out 2-step plans. | Picks up a car and lets it roll down a ramp; takes a pot out of the cupboard and bangs on it with a spoon. |
| Can look in one place while doing something in another. | The child reaches out for something while looking at the table. |
| 7–9 months | |
| When an object has been hidden, a child remembers that it is still in the same place (so-called object permanence). | Big brother hides the cuddly toy under a cushion; the child knows the cuddly toy is there and finds it again. |
| Can carry out two actions in a sequence. | The child lifts the cloth and grabs the toy lying underneath. |
On we go with the next big area: self-control. Definitely my weakest area… the chocolate ice cream tub is empty again…
| Self-control | Examples |
| Adults | |
| Have consistent self-control. | Hold back from swearing after dropping something. |
| Respond appropriately to a situation. | Don’t push back after being bumped into. |
| 10–18 years | |
| Can flexibly distinguish between focusing on an action and peripheral stimuli, and can judge what needs attention and what doesn’t. | When cycling, you have to concentrate on the road/path and pay attention to other road users, but not to the gardens of the houses you’re cycling past. |
| 7 years | |
| Like adults, children can already tune out irrelevant stimuli and concentrate on what matters. | When looking at a picture book, the child concentrates on the picture in the middle of the page and not on the chocolate stain in the margin. |
| 4–5 years | |
| Children insist less on a rule when they notice that the circumstances or the rule have changed. | Children accept that there won’t be a bedtime story because it got late after Grandpa’s birthday and everyone has to get to bed quickly. |
| Can wait before eating something tasty. | They are given a gummy bear and can wait until after dinner to eat it. |
| Can remember an arbitrary rule and stick to it, even if it contradicts the expected rule or action. | They sort coloured cards by shape instead of by colour. |
| 9–11 months | |
| They don’t reach straight for a reward that is visible but out of reach; instead, they assess the situation and find another way to get to the object. | They crawl over a cushion to get to the rattle. |
| 8–10 months | |
| Children stay focused on one thing, even when an action is delayed and they are exposed to other distractions in the meantime. | The child wants a piece of banana; Dad is peeling the banana and is interrupted by the doorbell. While the child waits, the cat comes into the kitchen; when Dad comes back, the child turns their attention back to the banana and asks for a piece. |
| 6 months | |
| Children are able, in a rudimentary way, to hold back a reaction or action when asked to. | Grandma asks the child not to touch the hot radiator, and the child does as asked. |
| Cognitive flexibility | Examples |
| Adults | |
| Are able to change actions and plans when circumstances change. | You wanted to go to the zoo, now it’s raining, so you go to the museum instead; the screwdriver was too small, so we fetch a bigger one to assemble the shelf. |
| 13–18 years | |
| Young adults get better at shifting focus or adapting to new rules. | The tactics at the handball tournament are adapted to each opposing team: who plays in which position, who marks whom, who goes on the attack. |
| 10–12 years | |
| Children can adapt their behaviour and rules depending on the situation. | You can shout on the football pitch, but not in the classroom or at a theatre performance. |
| 2–5 years | |
| Children are better able to adapt their actions to the situation. | At home we take off our outdoor shoes, at nursery we put on slippers, when it rains we wear wellies, in summer sandals. |
| 9–11 months | |
| Children learn to use different methods to get hold of objects that are not in their immediate field of vision. | Exploring different ways of opening the kitchen cupboards and getting to the pans. |
An important note: All children develop differently. These ages are only a guideline for when the skills can be expected. However, if you are worried about your child’s development, seek advice and support. For example, talk to your paediatrician, contact a child development centre, talk to other parents or speak to your child’s educators/teachers.
And honestly, looking at the examples, especially the ones for adults, I have my doubts that we ever fully develop our executive functions 😊. I mean, who manages to hold back the “Bloody h…” every single time?
If you’d also like to know how you can help your children build executive functions, read on here.
All the best,
Blanca