Delayed Gratification

So about a month ago my daughter (Jlyn) wanted so badly to get an ipod touch. Why? Because her sister had saved up for one and she wouldn't let Jlyn play with it. So of course we had the begging and pleading and negotiating and begging some more. Give her credit, she came up with some pretty good alternative ideas to try to score one of these little beauties. So much so that she was browsing Ebay and Craigslist trying to find "the best deal." However, being naive to the scams and ways people get you to actually pay more for a much inferior product we had to have some lessons about being a smart shopper. Long story short - Jlyn was all ready to "settle" for a first generation touch at a much discounted price through Ebay. Being the caring and wise parent I am, I launched into a lesson on delayed gratification explaining the necessity to learn how to wait for something that you have your mind set on and not just buying on a whim. So I made a deal with her - if she could wait a whole month without bugging me (or anyone else for that matter) or even hinting about "NEEDING" an ipod touch that I would pay 1/2 for her to get a 4th generation new one.

Honestly, she hasn't mentioned it even once since that night. Well, apparently even though she never said anything, she kept track of how long a month was - smart little whip. Tonight she reminded me about our little deal. I have to give her credit. She waited. So I asked her what she learned through waiting and she said, "That it's not good to buy something just because you want it really bad. If you can't wait for it, it's probably not the right time to buy it." Like I said - she is a smart little whip.

Stanford University did a study with kids a long time ago. They put a bunch of kids in a room and placed a marshmallow in front of them. The kids were told that if they waited for 10 minutes without eating the marshmallow they would get two instead of one. The adults left the room and watched the kids from a two-way mirror. Some were quite controlled and able to wait the ten minutes. Others were trying all sorts of things to keep from eating the one - hiding it, sitting on their hands, hitting themselves on the head. And some just went for it - not able to resist the temptation. The research team followed these kids throughout their high school years and found staggering results even so much so as how it affected their SAT scores. The kids that were able to see the wisdom in delayed gratification were much more successful. The others were willing to do most anything to get what they wanted, when they wanted, no matter what the cost.

I'm hoping that the 1/2 I spent was an investment in my daughter's ability to learn something that should last her a lifetime. And I hope she has fun with her new toy.