The Experiment: Self-Control

Okay, so last week I read an article about self-control relating to toddlers. Back in the day, there were a bunch of studies conducted by Stanford University at the Bing Nursery School. Basically, kids were given a marshmallow and were told they could eat the marshmallow immediately, or choose to wait x amount of time before eating it and receive two marshmallows instead. Some kids ate the marshmallow immediately, some kids waited a little while before eating the marshmallow, and a third group of kids were able to wait the full amount of time and receive two marshmallows. Anyway, they followed these kids into adulthood and the jist was that the ones who couldn't wait were more likely to be delinquents and the ones that were able to delay gratification tended to be very successful adults.

Of course, it got us wondering about tweedle dee and tweedle dum...

PURPOSE: To see if one or both of the nuggets are potential delinquents.

HYPOTHESIS: The boy flavored crackhead will down the treat in 2.5 seconds. We have been trying to work with him on having patience. He is the kid who sits in the back of the car going, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" and it drives us both crazy. I always felt like this was a result of him being in the NICU as a baby and the nurses not responding to his crying quick enough.

Oppositely, it is hypothesized that miss thing will wait as long as necessary to get the second treat. Infact, I would think that she would be willing to wait an entire year to double the bounty. It usually takes her about 20 minutes to eat a single cookie because she nibbles so slowly just to be able to enjoy it longer.

PROCEDURE: I gave each of the runts a piece of black licorice (they love it) and told them they could eat it now or wait 15 minutes and get two pieces instead.

EXPERIMENT: Callie was able to wait awhile before she decided that waiting sucked and popped the candy into her mouth. She lasted a little longer than 5 minutes. Wyatt, on the other hand, waited the entire time and got a second piece! Infact, I even tried to needle him when Callie caved and taunted him with, "Ooooh! Callie! Isn't it soooo yummy?!?!" The dude didn't budge. He stood guard between the candy and the clock for the first 10 minutes. After that, he wandered around to distract himself and never even once asked me if time was up. I was such a proud momma and he was soooo proud of himself too! Callie was upset at herself for not waiting and promised herself that she would wait the next time.

CONCLUSION: Mommy and Daddy are morons. Both you turkeys had us fooled! Patience is a virtue baby kiddos - a huge one! I love you.

"Prudent, cautious self-control, is wisdom’s root." - Robert Burns

"He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and fears, is more than a king." -John Milton

"If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self." - Napoleon Hill