Help Your Children Develop a Long-Term Mindset

Children grow well when their parents teach them right lessons

Results that come from long-term efforts are more important in our lives than short-term results in all aspects, from health and studies to diet and finances. Teaching our children to enhance their minds to think in the long term is the most crucial asset. Many children gravitate toward instant results that provide immediate enjoyment because human nature often seeks immediate gratification. Consequently, waiting is perceived as a barrier to happiness.

The Marshmallow Test is a famous psychological experiment conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In this test, children were offered a choice: they could eat one marshmallow or another treat immediately, or they could wait 15 minutes and receive two marshmallows as a reward for their patience. The experiment was designed to study delayed gratification—the ability to resist an immediate reward in favor of a larger, delayed one. The results showed that some children ate the marshmallow immediately, while others were able to wait the full 15 minutes. Researchers followed up with the children years later and found a correlation between the ability to delay gratification and future success. Children who could wait for the second marshmallow tended to have higher academic achievements. In contrast, many of those who ate the marshmallow immediately struggled more with impulse control and had somewhat lower life outcomes in certain areas, such as academic and personal achievements.

Therefore, the importance of training our children in this regard is very urgent. Here are six tips to help instill a long-term mindset in your children:

Time-needed tasks

Children are eager to finish their tasks or assignments immediately, they often can’t wait. This small habit can undermine their long-term thinking.

You should choose tasks that take one or two weeks to finish, even if children could complete them in two days. For example, select a complex coloring page and motivate your children by saying, “When you color the whole page, you will see an extremely beautiful image.” This urges them to finish it quickly to see the result, but explain that it will take one week because they won't color it all at once. Divide the coloring page into seven parts, with one part to color each day.

Celebrate long-term results

Show them through your reactions that long-term results are valuable. Tell them that smart people do not focus on instant results but sacrifice the present for the future. When you’re at the hospital, convince them with the idea that people undergoing surgeries are focusing on immediate enjoyment. However, take them to a public place where people are exercising and show them your happy face, so they can indirectly understand that this is the right action. Because their father or mother likes these actions.

One-year Goal

This technique is similar to the first one. Indeed, Waiting one year to achieve a result is not easy. A one-year goal will teach your children how to think in a long-term way, and they will feel enthusiastic about working toward long-term objectives as they gain experience. First, plan with them to achieve a goal in one year. Choose any stories you want them to read and tell them they can read these stories over the year by reading just 2 or 3 pages every day or twice a week. You should be consistent with this plan. After one year, your child will have read about 20 or more stories.

To encourage them, start praising them and surprising them with gifts, letting them know they have the ability to achieve long-term goals. Not only in education but also in their health, which is the next tip.

Your children’s health in the long term

Small steps we take every day can lead to significant health problems. To illustrate this point, consider a person who eats junk food every day and spends their time watching movies without exercising. This lifestyle can lead to dangerous results in the future, such as cancer. When comparing the risks of cancer with those of not eating junk food or sitting in front of the TV without exercising, most of us would agree that cancer poses a much higher risk. However, to understand this, one needs to experience it. This is what we need to teach our children.

Tell them that overeating fast food and not doing exercises is the easy path to becoming ill. Convince them that the small steps we take every day, like eating healthy food and going to the gym for about twenty minutes, are the remarkable things toward a happy life. Also, tell them through stories that a happy life is when you are well and don't sacrifice the future for the present.

Financial literacy in the long term

I wish my parents had taught me this lesson. Financial literacy is crucial for managing money for the future. Offer your child opportunities to help you with tasks and then pay them for their efforts. For example, instead of buying what your child needs, encourage them, “You are responsible, and I am sure you can buy it yourself. To purchase this toy, clothing, or book, you need to spend some time each day doing these chores for ten minutes or half an hour (depending on the child’s capabilities). Each time you complete this chore, I will give you this amount of money. After two or three weeks, you can buy your toy, clothing, or book. It's more than simply making money, it's about cultivating patience and managing the rewards you gain from these chores.”

This way of thinking can teach your child an invaluable lesson for life. The ability to save money for a long time to buy what they want will be the same skill they will use as adults when managing larger sums of money.

Real-life examples

Children tend to trust real-life examples. When they see someone doing something positive, they are motivated to do the same. Use real-life examples by sharing stories of people who sacrificed the present for a better future. Tell them about individuals who now work in dream jobs because they chose to work hard and follow their dreams. Conversely, share stories of those who are suffering in hospitals because they prioritized immediate pleasure over their health.

In this era of swift technological progress, it is easy to sacrifice the future for the present. The consequences for children indulging in unhealthy habits can be severe. However, if you help them become aware of the long-term rewards that come from healthy choices, they will likely become addicted to the benefits of a successful life.