Does your child have self-restraint?

It only takes a few marshmallows to find out! In the 1970's a study was done on delayed gratification to preschool children. Each child was offered a single marshmallow but if they could wait and not eat the treat until the adult came back they would get two marshmallows. The efforts of some of the children to stare down the treat or to distract themselves from it were both comical and painful to watch. Of course some children inhaled it as soon as the researcher left the room. But what is relevant to us as parents is the follow-up studies done on those same children. Those that had self-control went on to have better life outcomes measured by a variety of criteria including SAT scores, social and cognitive functioning, etc.

Take It Home

Invest now in your child's character bank in the area of self-control so that they can withdraw later from it as they encounter every temptation.