What is executive functioning?

In an interview from the 1960s, Mr. Fred Rogers was explaining how young children move through stages in their development like chords on a piano. Some keys combine to make an easy transition from one chord to another, whereas there are some chord combinations like the F to the F sharp chords that are more challenging to navigate.

Mr. Rogers explained how his role is to help children navigate across life’s chords. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was a television show aimed at preschoolers where there was a focus on children’s social and emotional development. Executive functioning is necessary for children’s growth and development. Executive functioning is similar to his piano chord example because they both are processes that combine elements. Planning, organizing, self-regulating, and working memory are fundamental processes that make up executive functioning.

Our role can be to help support children with executive functioning. Mr. Rogers was a musician. A musical term that may help with this idea that we can promote executive functioning is legato. In Italian, the word legato means smooth and connected. Sometimes the music is meant to be played with smooth and connected transitions. Adults can help children with smooth developmental transitions when we observe each child’s development in executive functioning and support them as they grow.