Better Teens Begin at Birth

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-k1guu90p’ admin_preview_bg=”] Better Teens Begin at Birth By high school, kids are expected to independently manage their time, complete assignments, take part in extracurricular activities and engage socially. But how?  While we are not born with these skills, we are born with the ability to cultivate them slowly – beginning in infancy.

“Executive function and self-regulation skills provide critical supports for learning and development. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, executive function skills allow us to retain and work with information in our brains, focus our attention, filter distractions and switch mental gears. There are three basic dimensions of these skills:

– Working memory — The ability to hold information in mind and use it. – Inhibitory control — The ability to master thoughts and impulses so as to resist temptations, distractions, and habits, and to pause and think before acting. – Cognitive flexibility — The capacity to switch gears and adjust to changing demands, priorities, or perspectives. Children build these skills by engaging in meaningful social interactions and enjoyable activities that draw on self-regulatory skills at increasingly demanding levels. “As infants, interactions with adults help focus attention, build working memory and manage reactions to stimulating experiences. Through creative play, games, and schoolwork children continue to practice integrating their attention, working memory, and self-control to support planning and flexible problem-solving”. (Harvard University) At Rayito, our STEAM curriculum brings these core principles to life. To learn more, click here.

Better Teens Begin at Birth

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