Teaching Discipline: Sweetness Of Delayed Satisfaction
Have you ever heard of the Marshmallow Experiment? This interesting study was conducted in the 60s and 70s at Stanford University by psychologist Walter Mischel. It involved giving a 5-year-old child a reward (usually a marshmallow or other candy), and telling the child that he or she could eat the piece of candy immediately or wait while the test leader left the room for a short while, after which the child would receive a double serving of the candy.
This simple test, which involved reward in exchange for effort, is a great way to measure children’s discipline, effort, perseverance, patience, etc. The children who took part in the Marshmallow test at the age of five and were followed in their academic life for the next 16 years showed interesting behavioral patterns.
Those who ate the piece of candy before the test leader returned to the room generally had poorer academic results, and in some cases dropped out of school before graduating, compared to children who patiently waited for the test leader to return before eating. According to subsequent studies, the Marshmallow test can provide a better indication of future academic success than many standardized tests and traditional intelligence tests.
How can we teach our children to be more disciplined?
Learning discipline and taking greater responsibility helps us to gradually become more independent, emotionally stable, and thus more mature.
1. sprue value of discipline from birth. Give the children food and spend the night at fixed times during the day and evening. It is also very important to talk to them often from the moment they are born, to encourage good self-confidence.
2. Establish established rules in the home. Children must learn from a young age that rules must be followed. It is important that they begin to realize that life has its limitations. This does not mean that there are no special days – such as birthdays, Christmas Eve or a weekend with the grandparents – when you can thumb a little at the rules.
3. Give them age appropriate responsibilities. Let them pick up their own toys, help set the table, clean the home, etc.
4. Use positive encouragement. Children should always receive positive encouragement; never negative. For example: “I know you are mature and that you will do the right thing.”
5. Establish a good line of communication with the children. They should feel that they can trust that you are open about what you want and how well they do different things. It is also good to learn to negotiate with them so that they do not feel that they can do what they want or that they live in a strict dictatorship. It will strengthen their self-confidence and encourage them to continue to do the right thing by making decisions responsibly and in agreement with others.
6. Explain why. If you explain to them that they have to brush their teeth so that they do not get holes, or that they have to wear the seat belt so that they are not injured in a collision, they will understand the situation much better and understand that there are reasons behind things. they do, and that it’s not just “because you say so”.
7. Lead by example. There is no better way to teach them than to set a good example. Live as you learn, your words will be much more credible to them, which increases the chances that they will listen to and follow them.
Watch a video where the Marshmallow test is performed.
