How to Strengthen Brains for Learning

Helping our children develop stronger Executive Function skills can sometimes feel overwhelming, but there’s good news: just like muscles grow stronger with repetition and challenge, so do brains.

Let me share a quick story.

Last year, my 10-year-old son qualified for multiple state-level swim meets. He worked hard, trained consistently, and met the qualifying times. But when he turned 11, he moved into a new age category—one with tougher time requirements. His previous qualifying times no longer counted. Now, if he wants to compete at states again, he’ll need to train even harder, pushing himself beyond what he’s done before.

This is exactly how learning works. Our brains grow stronger when we consistently increase the challenge. When children struggle with Executive Function—things like attention, organization, or initiation—improvement is not about making a massive leap overnight. Instead, we build their “brain strength” through small, incremental challenges.

For example, if a child:

• Can summarize a story in short phrases, encourage them to try full sentences.

• Can focus for 2 minutes on a task, stretch it to 2.5 minutes, then 3, working up gradually.

• Struggles with multi-step directions, start with one, then add another once they’re comfortable.

Just like my son has to increase his training intensity to reach his new goal, your child needs just enough challenge to keep growing. Applying the same level of effort day after day won’t bring progress—resistance and repetition will.

To try this strategy at home:

• Start small. Identify one skill your child is working on and add a tiny challenge.

• Track progress. Celebrate small wins to keep motivation high.

• Practice patience. Growth takes time, and progress often happens in tiny steps.

You’re not alone in this journey. Here’s to continued learning and success for our children.