Lab Rat

Tonight, I tried an experiment on Laura. I sat her in front of a Thin Mint and told her that she could eat it if she wanted. BUT, if she could wait to eat it until I get back (after about 10 minutes in the other room), I would give her another one too.

Michelle had told me about this experiment a while ago and then I listened to this Radiolab podcast about it today. Apparently a 4 year old's ability to wait for the second cookie says a lot about their chances of a stable, "successful" life, based on SAT scores, education, job, etc. (I used " " because everyone's definition of successful is different.) Radiolab is a great podcast, and this episode was fun.

Knowing Laura, we fully expected her to wait for the cookie, and she did. She sang some songs while she waited and did some counting. The cookie was innocently laying on the table when we returned. However...she did mention that she just kept licking it and licking it. Is that cheating? I didn't think so, and she got the 2nd cookie.