Well, don’t fret any longer, or feel like all your energy will be wasted.
New research suggests that particularly stubborn kids frequently grow into wildly successful adults.
The findings, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, follow over 700 children from around age nine all the way to 40, noting their sense of entitlement, studiousness according to teachers, defiance against their parents, and tendency to break the rules.
Take a stab at who was earning the biggest bucks at the end?
The kids who ignored both rules and their parents, that’s who.
Translation: If your child always demands a bigger treat today, they’ll probably be the one fighting for that bigger pay bonus, or commission 20 years from now.
The findings do come with a qualifier in that study is far from definitive.
It doesn’t account for career paths or other choices your child might make that have affected their earnings – they could have been corporate lawyers or corporate criminals.
But therapists say it’s true that strong-willed kids are more willing to do what’s right, rather than what their friends are doing. If parents can motivate them and turn their drive to doing well at school or a real purpose, these kids can make motivated leaders who will do the right thing even if they have to do it solo.
Personality traits are also known to be better predictors of success in the future, than say more traditional metrics, such as an IQ test.
