Should Kids Multitask? How Our Brain Functions Holds the Answer! And the Answer Is... Parenting

Like us, our kids should NOT multitask. Why? Because the brain goes through the following steps EVERY time we start a new project: 

1. Shift alert = the brain sends signals to the prefrontal cortex, or “mental switchboard.” 
2. Activation = the neurons needed are found and turned on. 
3. Disengagement = those neurons must “clock out” before a new neural network can be activated for another task. 
4. Activation for task No. 2. 

All four steps must happen, in order, every time we switch tasks. Let’s teach – and model – doing one thing at a time in order to do it well.