More social science in the news! Or perhaps this is another case of (to put it charitably) academics confirming what ordinary folk knew all along?

There’s a

growing body of research on “self-regulation” – people’s ability to stop, think, make a plan and control their impulses. It’s not a universal skill, as many grown-ups’ credit card bills attest. But it turns out that “these are really the same skills you need to do well in school,” and potentially in life, says Megan McClelland, an Oregon State University professor who studied the game. More important in this back-to-school season, it appears that self-regulation can be taught – though certain practices of modern parenting might not be helping matters.

Self-regulation — what the world needs now.

It’s an interesting article; read it to learn about the “marshmallow study” and Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders.  Of the latter, here’s a teaser:

by the end of a nine-month school year, the child who excels at this game will have zoomed 3.4 months ahead of the other child in math, and two months ahead in vocabulary.