3 Practical Strategies to Building Your Child's Executive Functioning at Home

A question I get often is, “What can we be doing at home to support their executive functioning?” 

If you’re like the parents I work with, eager for practical ways to support your child’s success at home, you’re in the right place.

By the end of this post, you'll have three strategies you can start using today to help your child develop executive function skills and reach their potential.

What Executive Functioning Really Means (And Why It Matters)

Think of executive functioning as your child's brain's command center—the part that manages everything from getting ready in the morning to making complex decisions.

While genetics provide the biological framework, childhood experiences play a huge role in how strong this cognitive foundation becomes. And parents? You have a unique opportunity to support this development every single day.

As experts, Dawson and Guare explain, parenting is essentially a process of providing executive function skill support and coaching.

Research shows that children who practice these skills learn self-management and independence—and that practice becomes the foundation for all kinds of learning later on.

3 Strategies You Can Start Using Today

Let's focus on three approaches that experts across multiple fields recommend—practical starting points that fit into your existing routine.

1. Build In Structure (It's Not as Restrictive as It Sounds)

"Structure" might make you think of rigid schedules, but it's actually one of the most freeing things you can do for your child.This could mean:

• Setting up age-appropriate chores

• Creating clear boundaries around screen time

• Establishing consistent routines for after school and bedtime

Why it works:

• Predictability reduces the mental effort your child needs to figure out what to do—so they can focus their energy on actually doing it.

• Skill practice happens naturally when structure creates opportunities to work on attention and self-control.

• Clear guidance becomes possible because structured plans give you both a reference point to work from.

2. Provide Guidance (Think of Yourself as Your Child's Brain "Programmer")

Plans spell out what needs to be done, but your child often needs extra support—especially when tasks are new or challenging.

The directions and demonstrations you provide act like code their brain will eventually use to manage tasks independently. You can guide by:

• Talking through each step before they start

• Checking in: "Are you following the plan?"

• Reflecting afterward: "What worked? What didn't? What should we adjust next time?"

With time and patience, your child will internalize these cues and learn to regulate their behavior on their own.

3. Reinforce with Positive Feedback (Your Most Underused Tool)

Once you've set a plan and provided guidance, the final step is reinforcing positive behaviors through feedback.

As Dawson and Guare put it: "Praise is one of the most underappreciated and underused tools for promoting behavior change that parents have at their disposal."

Effective feedback is:

• Timely: Right after you see the behavior

• Specific: "I noticed you put your backpack by the door without being reminded"

• Meaningful: "That's going to make your morning so much smoother"

• Effort-focused: Acknowledge the trying, not just the outcome

Your Daily Routine Is Already Full of Opportunities

You don't need to carve out extra time—your regular day offers abundant chances to practice these strategies:

• Morning routines: Structure + guidance + feedback = smoother starts

• Homework time: Perfect for breaking down complex tasks

• Cleanup/chores: Natural skill-building moments

• Bedtime routines: End-of-day practice with predictable structure

Non-routine ideas: Try puzzles, memory games, board games, or cooking together—all strengthen executive function skills naturally.

Start Where You Are

Your child's executive function development is a gradual process that unfolds over years, not weeks. The most effective support happens through small, consistent changes to routines you're already doing.

Pick one area—maybe morning routines or homework time—and try incorporating these strategies there first. As that becomes natural, expand to other parts of your day.

The goal isn't to transform everything at once. It's to give your child's developing brain the structure, guidance, and feedback it needs to build these crucial skills over time.

Remember: it's about progress, not perfection—for you and your child.

Sources:

Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University

Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2012). Smart but scattered teens. Guilford Publications.

Pew Research Center

Tera Sumpter, SLP