African farmers’ kids conquer the marshmallow test

Cultural parenting styles shape how children manage self-control

kid looking at marshmallow

WAIT FOR IT  A 4-year-old boy from a Nso farming community in Cameroon faces down a puff-puff pastry while waiting for a second treat during a battle of self-control known as the marshmallow test.

Culture and Development Lab/Osnabrück Univ.

Children of Nso farmers in Cameroon know how to master the marshmallow test, which has tempted away the self-control of Western kids for decades.