child development

Growing the Executive Branch, Pt. 1: Experiences and Executive Functions

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

If you have ever witnessed your child work through a problem, wait for a reward, or make plans for an upcoming event, you’re watching their executive functions in action. When they’ve easily lost their temper, forgotten what you said, or were too rigid to view a situation from another angle; that’s evidence that those mental skills are still developing. We talked about basic executive function last fall but here’s a deeper look into what makes it grow.

Executive functions refer to a set of mental skills that allow us to appropriately engage with our environment. Together, they manage our thoughts, actions, and emotions to accomplish tasks throughout the day. It’s housed in the prefrontal cortex. Although it gathers information from other parts of the brain to determine how to plan, organize, and manage situations, it is the last of the brain regions to mature. Children are not equipped with executive function skills when they are born. Instead, they develop them through quality of experiences.

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Child(ish) Reads: Good Inside

| Patti Webb

Last week, a mom on TikTok made a video about the disrespect and harsh criticism she received from her adult child. It turned into a mini rant on how Gen Z kids are entitled and don’t regard their parents with respect after all they’ve done. This video went viral and was stitched many, many times (before it was taken down) from Millennials in particular, explaining their choices to go no-contact with their parents. As difficult as it would be to imagine a no-contact relationship with my girls, my own relationship with my parents makes me feel this can be a completely justifiable move.

I started reading Good Inside with the intent of reviewing it, and be sure this is definitely a book review. But after this video, and in this context, we can very clearly see how Millennial parenting has evolved. We see the need for reflection, not only on how we were raised, but how we intend to raise. We see the importance of providing not only a model for your kid, but also building a mutually-connected relationship with your child through their teen and adult years. We can see how generational trauma has trickled down and how we ourselves need to be cycle breakers.

So with that, here are my takeaways from Good Inside:

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Coffee Chat: The Parent Test

| Patti Webb

Last month, I saw an IG promo for The Parent Test on ABC. It’s a competition-ish show, originally from Australia, on 12 different parenting styles and which one is the most effective.

Each week, four of the 12 families are given two filmed challenges. The other eight sets of parents watch and give their critiques based on how the parents handle their kids in the challenge.

Immediately, we knew we were watching and would most likely be cringing for every single episode. A tweet said it best, “This show is triggering, messy, and impossible not to watch.”

We watched the first episode together and the next with our husbands, and so far we’ve been decently surprised. Here are our initial thoughts:

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Holiday Gift Guide 2022: Child(ish) Reads

| Patti Webb

Welcome to our Child(ish) Reads Gift Guide!

A new installment from last year, this guide features our top kids’ books by age that are perfect for gifting.

Like we said last year, a good list for gift giving is:

1. Something they want
2. Something they need
3. Something they wear
4. Something they read

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Holiday Gift Guide 2022: 4+ years

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Kids grow up so fast and the gifting selections out there reflect that as they reach school-age.

For early school-age kids, executive functions are steadily maturing and they can focus and recall information more efficiently. They seek to play with others, continuously refining their social skills and looking for friendly competition.

Honestly, there are so many options out there for this age group that it can be difficult figuring out what gifts are both beneficial to your child’s development (because yes, they’re still growing and learning), and will also be enjoyed for the long haul.

Here’s our top picks for 2022 for 4 and up.

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