One marshmallow or two

After reading the little experiment in this months copy of Island Parent magazine, I couldn't wait to try it with my almost 4 year old at home.

"The Marshmallow Study, conducted in the 1960’s by Stanford University psychology researcher Michael Mischel, demonstrated how important self-discipline is to lifelong success. He started his longitudinal study by offering a group of 4-year-olds one marshmallow, but told them that if they could wait for him to return after running an errand, they could have two marshmallows. The “errand” took about fifteen to twenty minutes. The theory was that those children who could wait would demonstrate that they had the ability to delay gratification and control impulse." excerpted from Parents' Choice.

Well, Mr. Matthew was told the options and given a seat directly in front of the one marshmallow and told that he'd get two if he waited for me to do a quick load of laundry or just one if he ate it immediately. I was actually quite surprised to see him and the marshmallow both still sitting where I had left them 15 minutes earlier. Too cute!


Thanks for the experiment Island Parent and Walter Mischel.