“What we’re really measuring with the marshmallows isn’t willpower … It’s much more important than that. This task forces kids to find a way to make the situation work for them. They want the second ...

More from Dr. Ramey: 7 ways to connect with your child At Bing Nursery school at Standard University, Austrian-born psychologist Walter Mischel did a simple experiment with 3- and 4-year-old children ...

Waiting only helps kids develop self-control if we've first observed #1 and #2, above. In other words, if the parent makes the child wait for longer than she's developmentally able (not soothing as in ...