Language tools may boost children's developing executive function more than traditional instruction

Emerging research suggests that engaging children with descriptive language about colours, shapes, and categories through play can enhance their mental flexibility, with benefits extending into academic success and emotional well-being.

A young child’s ability to stop, think and shift course when rules change does not appear all at once. It develops gradually, and language may be one of the tools that helps it take shape. The article by Amanda Ruggeri for Bold Science argues that everyday words, especially those attached to colours, shapes and categories, may help children practise the mental flexibility that later supports self-control, planning and attention. Harvard Health and Harvard’s Centre on the Developing Child both describe executive function as a cluster of skills that includes working memory, impulse control and the ability to adapt to changing demands.

That matters because executive function affects far more than behaviour in the classroom. Harvard Health says these skills are linked with academic progress, emotional well-being and later life outcomes, while the Centre on the Developing Child notes that they begin developing in infancy and continue maturing through adolescence. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau likewise says they help children manage information, resist impulses and plan ahead, which can later shape decision-making well beyond school.

The research highlighted by Bold Science suggests language may play a direct role in that process. In one small study of toddlers, children who showed stronger brain activity during colour and shape label tasks at age two and a half went on to do better on a rule-switching sorting task two years later. That later task required children to hold a rule in mind, focus on the relevant feature and suppress the urge to keep using the old one. A more recent study indexed in PubMed also points to the importance of language for executive function, especially in young children with hearing impairment.

Researchers quoted by Bold Science say the practical lesson is not to flood children with instructions, but to pair play with useful language. Instead of simply naming an object’s colour, adults can also name the category it belongs to, helping children group information and notice what matters. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends similar kinds of activities, including planning games and pretend play, while the International Preschool Curriculum says early childhood programmes can support these skills through structured activities that build self-regulation, working memory and flexibility.

The broader message is that executive function grows through a mix of guidance and freedom. Adults can support it by giving children chances to sort, compare and revise their thinking, while also allowing room for mistakes and experimentation. That balance appears to matter: the goal is not to control every move, but to help children learn how to control their own.