The Benefits of Patience and Learning to Wait
The benefits of patience are sometimes slow to show up. The four-letter word we dread most is “wait.” From job applications to saving up for something important, waiting tests our patience. But it also teaches a critical life skill, especially when it comes to money. Most financial mistakes happen when we rush instead of pause.
A study of doctor’s visits found that the average adult will spend 78 hours of their life sitting in a medical waiting room. When you add in all the other places we wait, it becomes clear that much of adulthood requires patience and, let’s face it, being a little bored. That’s why the importance of teaching kids how to wait cannot be overstated.
In this post, I’ll explain why waiting matters so much, the benefits of patience, and how we can help our tweens and teens practice this skill early, when the lessons are smaller and the consequences are manageable.
The Four-Letter Word We Dread the Most: “Wait”
We find ourselves waiting in many situations, especially when it comes to money. For example:
Waiting to hear back from a job or college application.
Waiting for birthdays that allow us to work, drive, vote.
Standing in long lines at the Post Office or DMV while.
Waiting to find the right person to spend our lives with.
Saving up for a car, a home, or a vacation.
Waiting for a raise, promotion, or new opportunity at work.
Timing is Everything
The saying “timing is everything” rings true because waiting shapes the choices we make in life, especially with money. Learning to wait helps us slow down, think clearly, and avoid decisions we may later regret. Patience allows us to step back, evaluate our options, and make choices that serve us better over time.
Better Decision-Making -
Waiting creates space to think. When we rush financial decisions, we often choose convenience over wisdom. Pausing allows us to consider trade-offs, long-term consequences, and whether a choice truly aligns with our goals. Better decisions are rarely rushed.
Less Impulsive Behavior -
In a world built for instant gratification, waiting strengthens self-control. Impulsive choices often lead to unnecessary spending and regret. When we practice waiting, we train ourselves to pause before acting, helping us respond thoughtfully instead of emotionally.
More Resilience -
Patience builds resilience by teaching us how to handle delays, setbacks, and uncertainty. Not every opportunity works out, and not every goal is immediate. Learning to wait helps us stay steady through challenges and continue moving forward, even when progress feels slow.
Teaching Teens and Tweens to Slow Down
So how do we actually teach this skill in a way that prepares kids for adulthood? Learning to wait doesn’t happen through lectures. It happens through everyday practice. When we intentionally build waiting into daily life, we help our tweens and teens develop patience, self-control, and better decision-making skills they will use as adults.
Setting Age Milestones for Privileges: Create age milestones for privileges like staying up later, using electronics, getting ear piercings, or wearing makeup. Just remember, with increased privilege comes increased responsibility. For example, if they can stay up later, they should also do more chores. This balance teaches them that with freedom comes responsibility.
Delaying Gratification of Wants: Don’t buy your kids’ wants throughout the year. Instead, make a list of things they want for gift-giving occasions. As for the other days of the year, give them an allowance that will let them have the opportunity to save and spend to see how fast money goes and how long it takes to save. This helps them understand the value of money and how long it takes to save for something they want.
Encouraging Patience in Everyday Situations: Teach your tweens and teens to wait patiently at restaurants or during short car rides. Too often we take the easy way out and let electronics entertain. Instead of giving them electronics to pass the time, use these moments to build their waiting skills. Talk with them, play simple games, or encourage them to observe their surroundings. Also, teach your kids to wait patiently while you’re talking to someone. Let them speak when there’s a natural pause. This helps them understand that the world doesn’t revolve around their immediate needs and that waiting is part of respectful interaction.
Benefits of Patience in My Own Life
In my own life, I made my daughter wait until she was ten to get her ears pierced. The reason wasn’t to be strict. It was practical. Pierced ears require consistent care to stay clean and healthy, and I wanted her to be ready to take that responsibility seriously. When she turned ten and got them pierced, she understood what was expected: follow the care instructions and purchase her own earrings. Later that year, she received earrings for Christmas and was genuinely grateful, partly because she loved them, and partly because she knew what it meant to receive something she didn’t have to buy herself.
That experience highlighted an important side effect of waiting: gratitude. It’s hard for kids to truly appreciate something when it comes instantly and costs them nothing. But when they’ve waited, worked, or sacrificed for something, even in a small way, they begin to understand the value behind it. Waiting teaches them that good things often take time, effort, and follow-through.
Waiting isn’t always fun, for them or for us, but it is one of the most useful life skills we can teach. It slows down impulsive decisions, strengthens self-control, and builds patience and resilience. When we help our tweens and teens practice waiting now, we are giving them a skill they will lean on later, when the choices are bigger and the stakes are real.
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