No matter how young or how old you are, you can’t always get what you want. Your child will learn this early on, along with how it feels to be disappointed. Over time, he’ll understand that life presents obstacles. It’s not always easy to see your child get upset, but if you shield him from normal challenges and give in to everything he wants, you deprive your child of the growth that comes from being able to adapt to change and manage life’s ups and downs.

When you teach your child to delay gratification by learning how to wait, you help him develop frustration tolerance. He will gain the capacity to endure the discomfort of not getting what he wants when he wants it. Frustration tolerance is a valuable life skill.