What Were You Thinking? - Bryan Smith

When you're a child, it's not easy controlling your impulse reactions - kids do things before they think all the time. Strengthen executive function skills and empower impetuous young people with a humorous story about an impulsive third-grader. Teach students a strategy of four simple steps for stopping, thinking, decision-making, and choosing the right behavior.

Third-grader Braden is a real character. He loves to be the center of attention. Everyone just LOVES his jokes, witty comments, and immediate reactions. Or at least that's what he thinks. He comic genius, as he sees it, causes his friends to look at him in awe.

But when he is corrected in class for ill-timed jokes and an impulsive reaction during a game of dodge ball ends up with a classmate in tears, Braden's teachers and parents start working with him on how to control his impulses, teaching him four steps to follow before saying or acting on an urge, intrusive thought, or any idea that may land him in hot water.

Impulse control is an executive functioning skill that allows you think before you act and to prioritize long-term success over short-term gains. When you have good self-control, you are able to resist doing things that may be harmful to yourself or to others.