Patience is one of the most difficult character traits for kids to show. Waiting is hard when you’re little! Moms can help their kids grow in patience, and in this episode, Megan talks about what she’s doing with her 3-year-old to help him learn to wait for what he wants. She said she’s teaching patience and other good manners by leaning hard on sticker charts and her son’s obsession with monster trucks. But she’s wondering if she’s teaching him that he’ll get a reward every time he does something good.
You may have heard of the 1972 Stanford University Marshmallow Test. The kids who participated were told they could have a marshmallow, but if they waited, they could have two marshmallows. The study followed the kids into adulthood and found a correlation between patience and success later in life. If you have a patient child, that’s good news! If you have an impatient child, it’s OK! Patience can be taught. You can start small by telling your child she can’t have a snack 15 minutes before dinner.
Years ago, kids could learn patience naturally, but now, thanks to the speed of information, parents have to be intentional. Amazon and Google teach them they can have things ASAP, but parents have to show them waiting is a valuable character trait that will pay off later in life. iMOM has a great calendar you can use to help teach traits like patience, diligence, generosity, and honesty. Each month focuses on a different trait and includes stickers, a challenge, and pointers for moms to use.
Articles We Mentioned
5 Ways to Teach Kids Patience at Any Age
5 Ways to Teach Kids a Quick Fix Isn’t the Answer
5 Timesaving Lifesavers for Parenting a Child With ADHD
Take the Guilt Out of Saying No to Your Kids
Printables We Think You’ll Like
What have you done to help your child learn to be patient?
