Put a marshmallow in front of the child.
Set your child up in an area with a chair, a table, and 1 marshmallow. In the academic experiment, researchers hid behind a two way mirror. You can accomplish the same thing with a video camera or a webcam in your computer.
Explain the test.
Tell your child the rules of this little experiment. Explain that you are going to leave the room and that he/she is welcome to eat the marshmallow while you are gone. However, if you return and he/she hasn't eaten the marshmallow, you will reward him/her with an additional marshmallow.
Exit the room.
Go out of view, but monitor your child if you can. Leave the room once the child understands that he/she either gets to eat one marshmallow now or two later. If you have a mirror or camera set up, watch your child to see if they struggle at all.
Wait a few minutes.
The longer you wait, the harder the marshmallow will be to resist. In the actual experiment, the psychologists waited up to 20 minutes to see if the children could resist the temptation. However, in this fun version of the test, most parents will prefer to only wait 2-5 minutes.
Go back and provide the reward.
Return and reward the child with an extra marshmallow if deserved. Allow them to eat both marshmallows. Explain that you are proud of him/her for being patient. If the child ate the marshmallow while you were gone, try to use the moment for teaching about delayed gratification. Enjoy watching the video recording of the test with your whole family, and with the child when he or she gets older. The kids will enjoy seeing their reaction regardless of how the test goes.
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