It's hard being a kid. Sharing, taking turns, making plans ... none of these things come preprogrammed in our brains. These social communication skills and executive functioning skills need to be learned over time. In fact, most of these skills will continue to develop into adulthood!
Our brains are pretty amazing. But it takes some time to get fully set up.
So how you can support the development of these skills for your child? Well, the answer is simple: game night.
I know what you’re thinking: “All we have to do is play a game?”
Yep, that’s it… let’s open up the instructions and begin.
What's in the Box (I mean, brain)
Before we get gaming, let's take a quick step back to delve a little deeper into what your child is learning.
SOCIAL COMMUNICATION refers to the decisions we make to communicate with one another in order to share ideas, gain information, develop social connections, and more.
Let's focus on three key social communication skills:
Example -- Let's think about how you might talk to your family about a vacation:
To the kids: “We have a big announcement! We're going to Disney! Disney is far away, so we have to pack our things in suitcases and bring them on an airplane. The airplane will take us to Disney! When we're there, we get to sleep in a hotel ... all sleep in the same room. During the day, we get to go to the parks and see the characters. We can also go on the rides!”
To a partner/other adult: “I got the hotel and flights booked. We’re flying out of Logan on the 3rd -- we still need to schedule an Uber to the airport. Can you do that and I'll call the dog sitter. We’re going to stay for four nights and five days, so we should have enough time in each park."
This example showcases skill 2 and skill 3. When talking to your kids, you choose the information that's important to them (i.e., the plane, the hotel, the rides) and when talking to a partner, you focus on information that helps you collaborate to get things done (i.e. updating on tasks, asking for help).
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING is an umbrella term, referring to the many cognitive processes that are interconnected. Many of these cognitive functions help individuals successfully communicate with other and are also essential to helping individuals execute tasks, from planning to completion.
EF skills include things like:
Both social communication and executive functioning skills are critical across many aspects of a child's life.
They are especially important in the educational setting as children learn academic concepts, work in small groups, and communicate with others in the classroom. And they are equally important when supporting your child’s development socially in organized peer activities, like on sports teams or in clubs, and free play with peer on the playground or during play dates.
Set Up (For Success)
Oh, great. More directions? I just want to skip to the games already.
I mean, you can, but why stop now. This is the juicy stuff. We’ve talked a little about social communication and executive functioning skills, but what in the world do those have to do with board games?
Let’s break it down by talking about typical features of board games and how these skills come into play (see what I did there?).
It's not that surprising that board games can target SOCIAL COMMUNICATION n since board games are things that are, inherently, social.
Most board games are multiplayer, encouraging social connection, sometimes cooperation and therefore compromise.
Most games have some aspect of turn-taking required, a key pragmatic skill especially when interacting with peers.
By including players of different experience levels and ages, players may be required to adapt their language based on conversation partner - simplifying their language around rules for a younger sibling or perspective taking to giving more information to someone who hasn’t played before.
Sometimes, we draw a bad card or roll a low number. Sometimes, we lose. These not-so-fun parts of board games provide opportunities to practice emotional regulation strategies.
Perhaps less obvious, is how board games strengthen EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.
All board games have some type of rules that players must adhere to. Remembering rules targets working memory - and so does keeping track of whose turn it is!
All games have an objective. Whether it is getting to the finish, getting rid of your cards, or getting the most points, games are goal-driven. Completing this goal supports the cognitive function of task completion.
Board games -- even board games for children -- often have some aspect of strategy that helps to sharpen planning and decision making skills.
Many board and card games move quickly, requiring sharp visual attention and often split attention.
Playing the Game
Phew, you've made it to the fun part. Here are some of the board and card games we love to play and which of the above skills they target:
This list is not exhaustive, just some of our favorites. Any board or card game will target some aspect of social communication and/or EF.
Winning the Game
So, that’s it! It really is that simple to help support your child’s development.
Pick a game and try it out!
Still have questions about social communication or executive function? Looking for speech therapy to support your child in these areas? Send us an email at info@talktimeboston.com.
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