How to help your 2-year-old practice cognitive flexibility

Does your toddler sometimes switch to a quiet, sing-song voice when they’re around a baby or playing with a doll? Or do they know to hang their coat on a hook at daycare, but put it in a basket at home? These are early examples of cognitive flexibility. Of all the executive function skills your child is working on, flexible thinking is the slowest to develop—but that doesn’t make it any less important. Research shows cognitive flexibility is associated with math performance in elementary school and important problem-solving abilities in adulthood. 

What does flexible thinking look like at age 2?

At this age, thinking flexibly is mostly about learning to adapt to new rules or instructions. For example, they may know they can’t jump on your couch, but not understand yet that they can’t jump on the couch at Nana’s house. Your child is just starting to practice this ability. Here are some ways to help them learn: 

4 ways to engage your toddler’s cognitive flexibility

1. Search the fridge

Ask your child to help you find different foods: “Do you see the carrots?” “What about the broccoli?” When they scan the refrigerator for a particular item and ignore the rest, they’re demonstrating cognitive flexibility. 

2. Unload the dishwasher

Ask: “Can you pass me one of your dishes?” “Now can you pass me a plate?” “Where is something silver?” These questions prompt your child to shift their focus between categories, like shape, color, and ownership.

3. Set up a 3-part obstacle course

Have your child crawl through the Play Tunnel, then run across the room, and finally climb over a big cushion. This encourages mental rule shifting: “I have to crouch down to crawl through this tunnel and then stand up to run to the cushion.” Research shows physical play may increase cognitive flexibility in 2-year-olds. 

The Play Tunnel

A crawl-through tunnel to help develop strength and balance.

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4. Play sorting games

Give your child two bags: one full of red and green dots from the Drop & Match Dot Catcher and the other full of red and green buttons from the Mosaic Button Board. Set two bowls in front of your child and ask them to sort the objects by color—red in one bowl, green in the other. Next, invite them to put all the dots in one bowl and the buttons in the other. These games require your child to ignore competing information, like shape in the first game and color in the second. If your toddler puts an item in the wrong bowl, casually respond with, “Oops—the buttons go in this bowl!”

The Helper Play Kit (Months 25-27)

Empower your toddler’s sense of responsibility with toys from The Helper Play Kit

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The Companion Play Kit (Months 22-24)

Nurture your toddler’s emotional intelligence with toys from The Companion Play Kit

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Learn more about the research

Antrilli, N. K., & Wang, S. H. (2018). Toddlers on touchscreens: immediate effects of gaming and physical activity on cognitive flexibility of 2.5-year-olds in the US. Journal of Children and Media, 12(4), 496-513.

Blakey, E., Visser, I., & Carroll, D. J. (2016). Different executive functions support different kinds of cognitive flexibility: Evidence from 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐year‐olds. Child Development, 87(2), 513-526.

Diamond A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750