To get kids to do what they need for school, they need to run a movie through their minds.

That’s one of the key pieces of advice Sarah Ward, co-director of Cognitive Connections, planned to tell parents at a seminar Aug. 25 at Bainbridge High School.

Doing that isn’t as easy as it may sound, Ward said in an interview. “Kids are not as effective with imagery as they used to be,” she said. They have so many devices nowadays that create imagery for them. She said in the old days people used to read more, and they had to create images in their minds.

She also said kids’ memories are declining because they don’t practice it anymore. Of course, adults have that same issue. Neither memorize phone numbers because their devices have them, for example.

Ward said her specialty is “executive functioning.” The classical definition of that is organizing, planning and managing time.

She said adults and kids view things differently. When mom says “be ready for school in a half-hour” she thinks the child is thinking what needs to be done. That’s not the case. The child needs to learn to “run their movie through their head” of brushing their teeth in the bathroom, getting their backpack in their bedroom, going downstairs to get their textbook, etc. “They need to see themselves moving through space and time,” Ward said, adding by doing that they can figure out if they have time to fit it all in.

Same thing goes for doing homework. Parents can’t just ask, “What do you have for homework?” The student needs to visualize what that looks like. It can’t just be generic, “I have to work on my essay.” They have to plan a specific part of the essay, such as, “I have to do research today.” Learning that helps with self-regulation.

Without those specific visualizations, kids can get off track. “Bless their hearts. They have so many distractions these days,” Ward said.

The complaint she hears most often from parents is kids don’t do their homework. But if they don’t visualize what they are going to do, they can get lost in things like social media sites like Tik Tok and Instagram. “If they’ve reached the halfway mark and they’re not halfway done they’re clearly not on target to get it done.”

Ward works with kids weekly, and they all have issues with time. When asked how they visualize time 99% say through digital rather than an old-fashioned analog clock. “Volume of time is a huge challenge,” Ward said because digital is just numbers. But if kids can picture an analog clock, they can see the passage of time as it occurs and figure out what needs to be done. Such as, “I’m not even halfway through my homework, and I only have 15 minutes left before I have to leave for soccer practice.” They may intend to do their homework, but they realize they don’t have enough time so they say, “What’s the point? I’ll do it later.” But if they can simulate it beforehand, they can see how that action fits in that time.

Even that often isn’t as easy as it sounds. She said many public schools don’t spend any time teaching kids how to read an analog clock.

One tip Ward has to help kids is to take a photograph so they can see what accomplishing a task looks like. That can be far more effective than making a list, she said. A photo of them dressed and ready to go out the door, for example, can make “sure everybody is on the same page.”

Another example is what the backpack should look like. The photo should be of all the things spread out that need to be in the backpack.

For older kids, they can create “material” photos on their cellphones needed for different tasks, such as baseball or volleyball practice. Ward said they “don’t have to have 10,000 images,” but if they have the core pieces then they can have “cognitive flexibility” with the differences: such as if they need boots or sandals or a t-shirt or raincoat, depending on the weather.

Anther tip she likes to give is called “job talk.” Instead of giving kids a command, such as “brush your teeth,” instead say, “you need to be a toothbrusher.” That shifts the power to them. They have to think, “What does a toothbrusher do?”

If a list does need to be made, the parent shouldn’t just give the child one. “If you write a list for your child that’s your simulation, not the child’s.”

Ward gave an example that she said was not that “extreme.” She said she worked with a boy who struggled with time management and organization. She asked him when your family goes to the beach, what do you need to bring? He said a swimsuit, towel and sunscreen. “Well, where do you get the towel?” she asked. He didn’t know. So he asked his mom. She said either on top of the dryer or in the linen closet. He went to the laundry room; a towel wasn’t there. “Where do you go now?” Ward asked. He said, “Mom, where’s the linen closet?” So when she says let’s go to the beach she visualizes all of that, but he doesn’t. He has to learn how to do it.

To conclude, Ward said: “To support your students have them rehearse the actions they are going to have to take to get the job done.”