I was working in a school & one of the lovely dedicated teachers called Steve told me about how the French bake cakes with their kids on Saturday mornings & don’t eat them until tea time in the afternoon.
It got me pondering.
Technology, TV & what I like to call “placating parenting” has robbed children of delayed pleasure.
Kids aren’t used to waiting for anything anymore.
We have robbed kids of the excitement of waiting – we have denied them the joy of saving up time.
Apps, video games and technology teach instant gratification and if you add parents afraid to say “No” or “Later” to their kids then we have a generation of children who have no idea what it feels like to wait for anything.
Kids from toddler to teen want it all and they want it NOW !
So we have a generation of adults who don’t know how to wait, show the discipline of patience or have the personal satisfaction of self fulfillment.
The mantra of marketing slogans around having it all and having it now because “you deserve it” are not really serving children and teaching them tenacity, staying power or self discipline. We are failing to teach kids that to succeed in life or in a career without winning the X Factor, or marrying a footballer takes patience, stickability and delayed gratification.
So my question to you today is how do you “talk and teach” your kids to WAIT?