Your working memory, cognitive flexibility, and self-regulation are core components of executive function (EF), an interrelated set of mental skills that lay the foundation for advanced cognitive ...

Have you ever watched a toddler try to put on their own shoes? It’s a masterclass in concentration. They’re balancing, pulling, and—hopefully—not throwing the shoe across the room in frustration. That ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover Mental Wellness for Adolescents and Adults. Executive functioning skills are your child’s mental control center, ...

I remember applying for my first job at a party store called Wishing Well. It seemed like an amazing place to work, and I was thrilled to hand in my application (on paper, because it was the 90s after ...

Executive function (EF) coaching helps to improve skills housed in the brain's prefrontal cortex related to decision-making, long-term planning, impulse control and our ability to take action. As an ...

During the eight years that Hannah Ross was a third- and fourth-grade teacher, she noticed there were always a handful of kids whose needs weren’t being met in the classroom. Some might have ADHD or ...

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact young children’s executive function skills? Executive function skills are a set of inter-related processes that support attention, self-control, and goal-directed ...

Principal Ian Knox’s thoughtful opinion essay, “Kindergartners Are Struggling With Self-Regulation. How Principals Can Respond ” (July 8, 2025), centers on steps school leaders can take to respond ...

Executive function is the mechanism by which our brains manage and prioritize our thoughts, working memory, emotions and actions; Harvard researchers call it our brain’s air traffic control system.