A current study has revealed that a child's ability to excel in the future is determined by his or her ability to refuse a treat. University of Warwick's researchers created a test to find out how toddlers' performance will likely be in school.
Scientists have found that if children could survive not touching a raisin placed under a cup for a minute, they would most likely become successful in the future. This may sound like a very non-complex tool. However, researchers are convinced that this can prompt early detection of attention and learning deficits.
In fact, they suggest that children who are able to refuse treat temptations will have seven points higher IQ. "Better inhibitory control at age 20 months predicted better attention regulation and academic achievement at age 8 years," says lead researcher Professor Dieter Wolke.
"An easy, five-minute raisin game task represents a promising new tool for follow-up assessments to predict attention regulation and learning in preterm and term born children," Prof. Wolke says. "The results also point to potential innovative avenues to early intervention after preterm birth."
Moreover, they found that compared with full-term babies, premature children have higher possibility of taking the treat before 60 seconds is over. Thus, they are more likely to suffer from learning difficulties.
It was asked if parents can try this at home and Prof. Wolke answers: "Results may be different if a parent or an independent tester does it... if a child cannot usually control an immediate response, it would indicate to parents that they may do something."
This current study is similar to Walter Mischel's Marshmallow test in the 1960s. The test involves putting a marshmallow in front of the children, and they are given a choice of either taking the marshmallow or getting two if they wait for his return. Years later, when he traced back the participants, he found significant association between the test and the children's success in life.
The study utilized the still ongoing Germany-based Bavarian Longitudinal Study's data that began in 1985, which include 558 children born between 26 and 41 weeks gestation. This research is published in "The Journal of Pediatrics."
