Recently I came across a great read that now has a place of honor in my parenting file. “Don’t,” by Jonah Lehrer in the New Yorker magazine, can also be found online at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer. This is the continuing saga of “The Marshmallow Story” and the importance of knowing how to delay gratification.
The research that is outlined in this story will stun you as a parent. The good news is that the ability to delay gratification can be learned. And, as I have said over the last 11 years, the ability to delay gratification is critical to successfully managing your money as an adult. The child who can delay will grow up into the adult that will save for a down payment on a house before they buy, put money away for retirement and ultimately, save more than they spend.
As I read this story, I could not help but think that the Money Savvy Pig piggy bank helps a child frame the spend choice and thus, helps the child delay and control the impulse to spend. Using the Money Savvy Pig throughout childhood helps a child learn to delay. See if you agree with me after you have read the story.
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