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Why Kids Don't Put Their Coats On

I love studies that unravel the mysterious predilections of children. Especially when they remind us that young minds aren't mini versions of older ones. This new study, from the University of Colorado at Boulder, explains why when you tell your preschooler 10 times to put on his coat before he goes outside, he won't, and then he'll complain that he's cold. The previous assumption, the researchers said, was that kids were doing what adults do—listen, take in information, use it to plan—and just doing it badly. But this study suggests that they're doing something different. They listen, store what they hear, and then only use it after an experience (like being cold) triggers them to. Eureka. The problem isn't "in one ear, out the other." It's in one ear and stored up for later. Like a squirrel.

The finding even comes with advice for parents about how to hound their kids more effectively. From Science Daily, quoting lead researcher and psychology professor Yuko Munakata:

"If you just repeat something again and again that requires your young child to prepare for something in advance, that is not likely to be effective," Munakata said. "What would be more effective would be to somehow try to trigger this reactive function. So don't do something that requires them to plan ahead in their mind, but rather try to highlight the conflict that they are going to face. Perhaps you could say something like 'I know you don't want to take your coat now, but when you're standing in the yard shivering later, remember that you can get your coat from your bedroom.' "