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I grew up in a household without sugary cereals. My siblings and I would sing songs and dance with excitement when we had them. Socioeconomic status certainly e
by stochastic_monk 8y ago
I grew up in a household without sugary cereals. My siblings and I would sing songs and dance with excitement when we had them. Socioeconomic status certainly explains the difference between cohorts, but perhaps it’s the easier signal to catch while the core mechanism is a matter of what is available in one’s household.
- orbitur 8y agoYeah, I'm a little torn on this. The OP's claim makes sense on its face, but then I think about my own household, where we're solidly upper-middle class, and my wife and I refuse to keep sugary cereals (and most other junks like Doritos or candy, etc) in our cupboard. My daughter has definitely experienced them at birthday parties and at her grandparents'. Would she have "willpower"? I'm leaning towards "yes" because her experience has been that she can rely on people. Perhaps a poor child is simply more likely to have unreliable caretakers, so there's less trust.
- dghughes 8y agoMy mother grew up on a farm with eight siblings. For Christmas they would get a single apple in their stocking from Santa! My mother said everyone would be very excited. There was an an apple orchard on the farm.
- _red 8y agoWhy did your parents seek to create a household which avoided sugary snacks? The fact is, that itself could be representative of the genetic predisposition towards self-control.
- stochastic_monk 8y agoIt was a health decision. For good or bad? It could be parents who don’t trust their self-control or who have a surplus of it and expect the same from their children.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y agoIt could also be indicative of poor self-control - if you know that buying the cereal means you'll eat it too quick, it's easier to avoid buying it than not eating it once you have it. I'm not saying that's the case here, but self control can cut both ways.