The Secret to Teaching Kids Self-Control

Like a Kid in a Candy Store: Kids often aren’t great at demonstrating self-control, especially when it comes to ever-present temptations like screen time and junk food. Experts agree that classic exposure techniques — like giving your child complete access to the cookie jar — won’t help them resist temptation long-term. So, how do you help kids cultivate willpower?

How to Do It: Create a temptation-free environment — teaching kids how to eliminate a temptation is more effective than teaching them to resist it. Want your child to do homework instead of playing video games? Teach kids to keep the screen out of the work space. Want to foster a love of reading? Keep books around — in their bedroom, in the car, in places where they have to wait, like restaurants. Want them to choose healthier foods throughout their life? Serve those foods, and talk about how tasty they are and how they’re good for their body. 

The Benefits: Cultivating healthy, temptation-free environments early on can build lifelong habits. Parents have a lot of influence over kids’ preferences, simply by presenting and speaking positively about these options. Stronger willpower is associated with better grades, healthier diets, and more successful careers and relationships as adults.