Flexibility

Flexibility is the thinking skill that focuses on a child's ability to adapt to new situations, to improvise, and to shift the way that she is doing something to meet differing and variable challenges. For example, when taking a test that contains both multiple choice and essay questions, a child with good Flexibility skills will be able to switch easily between the two formats, while a child who struggles with Flexibility skills may get stuck and become frustrated each time the format changes.

Video games can help improve Flexibility by allowing kids to practice their Flexibility skills while in the midst of a fun and immersive game experience. Many games require that players shift their thinking and gameplay strategies with each new level, in order to advance and "beat the game." Video games provide a great opportunity for children to learn from their mistakes, shift their approach, handle frustration, and think creatively about new ways to solve problems.

Watch the video below to learn more about how video games can help your child improve her Flexibility thinking skill.




Featured Flexibility Games and Beyond Games
Pick a Flexibility game or other digital technology (Beyond Games) from the lists below.

Learn More About Flexibility

Flexibility involves the capacity to improvise, to shift approaches, and to adapt to the demands of a situation. Developing novel strategies and shifting one's attention from one task to another are often necessary. Flexibility involves recognizing the need to utilize different problem-solving strategies, including reflective, careful approaches or random trial-and-error approaches.

Flexibility is often utilized in social situations and peer interactions and it is an important part of a child's ability to transition between activities.  It helps individuals deal with disappointments and shifting expectations, and it helps children deal with unexpected events and changes in their routines.

Skillful application of flexibility is seen in when children:

• are able to think on their feet and adapt readily to new situations.
• do well with transitions, such as leaving game play to sit down at dinnertime.
• are able to wait their turn so that a younger child can have a first opportunity to do something.
• recognize that they may need to practice something rather than be able to learn it after their first attempt.
• are able to deal with disappointment when they lose a game or when expectations change suddenly.
• are able to view situations from others' perspectives.

Unskilled use of flexibility is seen when children:

• experience significant problems with changes, transitions, and new situations.
• get stuck by utilizing the same ineffective problem-solving strategies that did not work for them in the past.
• become inappropriately insistent and indignant in situations.
• become angry when given the feedback that they are wrong.
• have difficulty understanding the differing expectations of parents and teachers.
• continue to dwell on something that was said to them in the past.
• cannot change their plans readily.

Home and school flexibility that require time management:

• trying out new activities or tasks
• shifting from playing with friends to going home to eat dinner or do homework
• handling frustrations while attempting to complete a task
• losing a game or facing a disappointment
• transitioning from one classroom activity to another
• adjusting to a change in a routine, such as a substitute teacher or a babysitter

Hints and strategies to improve Flexibility:

• encourage thinking about things differently. For example, see if you and your child can generate alternative uses for common household items. Discuss how many ways you could use a phone book, such as for a booster seat, a doorstop, a fire starter, or for looking up telephone numbers.
  
  
• encourage video and board game play that requires flexible thinking. Many games, such as Risk or Blokus, involve strategies that require cognitive flexibility in response to changes on the board and to the actions of one’s opponents. Similarly, many single-player video games change the necessary skills from one level to another. For example, during the first level of a game, one may simply need to run and jump in order to get from one place to another; however, for subsequent levels, this method may be inadequate, so one will need to think of alternative strategies to be successful. Encourage your children to recognize the need in these games for changes in strategy, and discuss together how they can apply this sort of flexibility to their daily lives.


• practice trial-and-error learning. Do something with your child for which it is clear that there is no right or wrong answer. For example, rearrange the books on a bookshelf to see how they look best, put together a flower arrangement, or try various recipes for a smoothie or an ice cream shake.
  
  
• play games that operate strictly by chance. These include flipping coins, playing "war" with a deck of cards, or playing any number of board games that do not rely on skill, such as Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders.

Further Reading About Flexibility:

• Cooper-Kahn, Joyce, Ph.D. and Laurie C. Dietzel. Late, Lost, and Unprepared. A Parent's Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning (Chapter 12). Maryland: Woodbine House, 2008.
  
  
• Cox, Adam J., Ph.D. No Mind Left Behind (Chapter 4). London, England: Perigee Press, 2007.
  
  
• Dawson, Peg, Ed.D. and Richard Guare, Ph.D. Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents. New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2010.
  
  
• Dawson, Peg, Ed.D. and Richard Guare, Ph.D. Smart but Scattered (Chapter 19). New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2009.
  
  
• Galinksy, Ellen. Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs (Chapter 2). New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2010.
  
  
• McCloskey, George, Lisa A. Perkins, and Bob Van Divner. Assessment and Intervention for Executive Function Difficulties. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009.
  
  
• Meltzer, Lynn. Promoting Executive Function in the Classroom (Chapter 6). New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2010.
  
  
• Richard, Gail J. and Jill K. Fahy. The Source for Development of Executive Functions. East Moline, IL: Lingua Systems, 2005.

What's Next?

Next, it's time to play Shape Switcher. Click the "Shape Switcher" link in the navigation bar or click here.

Remember, you don't need to play all three games in one session. In fact, in order to give the lessons a chance to sink in, it would be best to play them on separate days.