Here's the money line:
There's a lot here and it comes down to learning to say "no", helping kids see the value of delayed gratification (which the study uses at various levels), giving kids a realistic self-picture (aka self-esteem), and establishing good work ethics. This seems like common sense, but it definitely isn't socially popular right now.
"...self-discipline is a better predictor of academic success than even IQ."According to a study from Psychological Science, "Underachievement among American youth is often blamed on inadequate teachers, boring textbooks, and large class sizes," the researchers said. "We suggest another reason for students falling short of their intellectual potential: their failure to exercise self-discipline. . . . We believe that many of America's children have trouble making choices that require them to sacrifice short-term pleasure for long-term gain, and that programs that build self-discipline may be the royal road to building academic achievement."
There's a lot here and it comes down to learning to say "no", helping kids see the value of delayed gratification (which the study uses at various levels), giving kids a realistic self-picture (aka self-esteem), and establishing good work ethics. This seems like common sense, but it definitely isn't socially popular right now.