Marshmallows and the Management of Multiple Tasks

by | Jan 9, 2015 | Children, Community, Education, Fredericksburg, Parenting, School, Spotsylvania, Students, Test Strategies, Tutoring | 0 comments

In a now classic, 1972 study by Walter Mischel at Stanford, children ages 3-5 were given a marshmallow and told if they could resist eating the marshmallow for 15 minutes, while the teacher stepped out of the classroom, then they would get two marshmallows.  Follow-up studies showed that the children who were able to delay the gratification of eating the marshmallow for 15 minutes:  had higher SAT scores, attained higher levels of education, had lower body mass index scores, used risky drugs less frequently, and were better able to deal with interpersonal issues in order to maintain close relationships with others.  So what made it possible for some preschoolers to delay gratification, while others could not wait?  According to Mischel, what is needed for self-control in any situation is executive functioning.

Executive functioning skills allow us to plan, remember instructions, focus attention, and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.  The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University compares executive functioning to an air traffic control system at a busy airport.  An effective air traffic control system can safely manage many different arrivals and departures on multiple runways.  Just as a person with highly developed executive functioning skills can control impulses, stay focused, delay gratification, and set and achieve goals.  You may wonder, are certain children just born with these skills?  Children are not born with executive functioning skills, but all children are born with the potential to develop these skills.

Executive functioning skills are developed when children get what they need from caregivers and their environment.  Children are the most able to learn executive functioning skills between the ages of 2 and 7 and then again during adolescence and the teenage years.  Adults can do several things to help children develop these vital executive functioning skills:

  1. Carefully Select a Preschool
    For young children, choose a preschool that has a play-based or child-directed model allowing children to learn to solve their own problems.   Activities should foster creative play, social connection, exercise and physical activity, and teach children how to deal with stress.    Growth-promoting environments also provide children with opportunities to practice skills before they must perform them and eventually allow children the freedom to direct their own activities with decreased adult involvement.
  2. Create a Consistent and Reliable Environment
    For young children and teenagers routines and stable relationships with caring adults are important to being able to predict their environment, allowing them to feel empowered to make plans and decisions for themselves.
  3. Teach Children to Wait, Persist, and Practice.
    Prioritize teaching children patience.  Praise children when they wait or demonstrate patience instead of interrupting others or choosing immediate gratification.  When children do not demonstrate patience, teach them by modeling the appropriate behavior you would like to see in the situation.  When children do something over and over again, this practice helps them to improve persistence, concentration, and focus.
  4. Model Appropriate Social Behavior.
    As parents, we have to practicing demonstrating the behavior and level of self-control that we want our children to demonstrate.  For example, instead of yelling at them or others when we are frustrated or annoyed, try modeling the desirable behavior by saying something like, “I feel very frustrated when you do not listen to me when I ask you to stop.  I feel like yelling, but I am going to take a few minutes to calm down, and then we will discuss the consequences for not following directions.”  In addition, make sure to draw attention to your child and praise them when they exercise self-control and model the social behavior that you would like to see.
  5. Choose Activities That Promote the Development of Executive Functioning
    There are many play and storytelling activities that can be done with younger children to promote the development of executive functioning skills.  Older children should focus on developing what are traditionally referred to as study, goal-setting, and self-monitoring skills.  See the following link for age appropriate ideas for developing executive functioning skills:  http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/tools_and_guides/enhancing_and_practicing_executive_function_skills_with_children/.


-Nina Parrish, M.Ed.
Owner | Parrish Learning Zone, LLC
540-999-8759

                                       ~Nina

Nina Parrish, M. Ed.

Nina Parrish, M. Ed.

Co-Owner and Director of Education

Proud mom of two adorable girls. Teacher who has developed an education business that started at a kitchen table and has grown into a thriving small business... Click here to Learn more about Nina.

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Pam Cantrell Burton
Pam Cantrell Burton
2020-10-14T16:15:51+0000
Parrish Learning Zone helped my daughter with on-line SAT and college essay preparation. She not only scored in the top 90 percentile on the SAT after working with Lauren Cannavo, she especially benefited from the tutoring she received for her admission essays. My daughter was accepted at Notre Dame, UVA, William and Mary, and received scholarships to George Washington University and the University of Alabama. She was initially deferred at the University of Chicago and waitlisted at University of Michigan and Emory University. She eventually chose not to remain on the waitlists and committed to UVA.Lauren also advised our daughter regarding her submission of a 20 page essay on community service for DECA, a high school business club. Our daughter, along with her partner, won second place in her category at the DECA state competitions in 2019 and 2020, and received second place at the DECA international competition in 2019.Lauren was not only a top-notch professional, she really cared about our daughter and was so pleased about her accomplishments. We are so very grateful to her and Parrish Learning Zone.
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Marijayne Kruus
2020-05-11T21:51:37+0000
Mr. Chaves is an extremely gifted chemistry teacher. It's such a difficult subject--my son was drowning by the time we found PLZ. This was truly a last ditch effort on our part. Mr. Chaves was able to turn that ship around after only 4 lessons and my son passed the SOL! He was able to distill difficult concepts in a way that made them comprehensible and he was patient and kind and gave my son the confidence to succeed. His actual eacher expressed surprise and made a point of telling him he didn't know how he did it but he was impressed. It takes a gifted teacher to get results like that.I only wish we'd found PLZ and Mr. Chaves in the beginning of the school year.
Wendy Zelazny
Wendy Zelazny
2018-06-08T02:05:15+0000
Highly Recommend
Anne Kater Reeves
Anne Kater Reeves
2018-06-07T22:46:05+0000
I highly recommend Parrish Learning Zone. My daughter was able to achieve the SAT score she was aiming for with the help of her Math (Mr. James Slane) and English (Mrs. Lauren Cannavo) tutors. Not only did they help her with practice tests but they also boosted her confidence in taking the SAT. The owners (Nina and Jay) were always prompt in answering my emails. They are very accommodating and worked around my daughter’s schedule (thank you Shiela for all your help in finding available dates for my daughter to meet with her tutors). Thank you Parrish Learning Zone for helping my daughter achieve her goal!
Beth Yankovich
Beth Yankovich
2018-03-23T20:29:18+0000
I can't say enough good things about Parrish Learning Zone. My son has historically suffered from low reading comprehension. I felt he needed a little extra help so I contacted Parrish Learning Zone. The owners at Parrish matched my son with the perfect tutor for him, they developed a rapport almost immediately. He is now in 8th grade and doing well in all his classes. My son is very active in school sports and the staff at Parrish are always very accommodating. They always reschedule with no problems. My son even likes to go early to chat with Sheila.
Beth Kent
Beth Kent
2017-11-08T18:59:11+0000
Awesome! Very structured and student focused - they identified the areas of weakness and turned those into areas of strength in a very short amount of time. I loved the communication from the tutor and the company. I received a specific report of my child's tutoring session including improvements and areas that needed continued work. I received reminders of upcoming tutor sessions - which I needed!! I felt the individual attention and service was worth every penny AND found the prices to be much more reasonable that other tutors in the area. I would HIGHLY recommend Parrish Learning Zone to any parent that needs to find highly competent tutoring help for their child. Parrish is simply the best!
Michele Hiltbrunner Freemyers
Michele Hiltbrunner Freemyers
2017-03-14T15:53:50+0000
An excellent place to take your kids for any tutoring needs! PLZ is a very personalized and hands on service! Both of my teenage boys have been through here for various reasons and I know we will continue to make use of them!
Tammy Elms Mosco
Tammy Elms Mosco
2016-06-02T12:20:59+0000
I am extremely thankful to Parrish Learning Zone. I have a son that is a freshman in college majoring in mechanical engineering. I am so glad that we found out about the Parrish Learning Zone because they were very caring and really worked hard around my sons high school football schedule to ensure that he received all of the needed instruction in order to do well on the SAT testing. It was a great investment for his future. I believe this experience prepared my son for the transition to college life. He was able to attend a top engineering college and to play football there. My daughter is a senior in high school now and was admitted into two of the top ranked public schools in Virginia. She will be a freshman at one of these schools next year. She also was enrolled in the Parrish Learning Zone for preparation for the SAT. I am again thankful to the Parrish Learning Zone and feel that this was a great long term investment into their futures. I would strongly recommend the Parrish Learning Zone to anyone looking for an environment that offers a caring and knowledgeable approach to educating students. They are the best.
Angela Jackson
Angela Jackson
2014-05-15T00:39:39+0000
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Andrew Powers
2014-02-09T12:32:29+0000

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