By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
The raisin-cup game to test your kid's future academic successes
1c5f915388f25d601d4517f4020eee6ad9493111beaaa22d1916a85c7dcee05c
A new study indicates with a simple test, parents might be able to find out how well they'll in school. Here's how. - photo by Payton Davis
Researchers indicated parents who want to test the future intelligence of the toddlers they're raisin might just need a dried grape and cup.

Michael Harthorne wrote for Newser the researchers claim they can predict an 8-year-old's academic success when the child is a toddler by putting a raisin under a cup and telling the child not to eat it until told.

The test sounds easy, Sarah Knapton wrote for The Telegraph.

But it's "excruciating" for youngsters most failing.

"However, those who show enough self-discipline to wait for a whole minute are destined for greatness, according to academics," The Telegraph's report read. "By the age of 8, the youngsters who resist temptation will have an IQ of seven points higher than those who ate the fruit early."

The game tests attention span and capacity to learn, Tammy Hughes wrote for the Daily Mail. Study author Dieter Wolke said it's an "easy and effective" tool in assessing control in young children.

Researchers tested 558 children at 20 months for the study, according to the Daily Mail. Results indicated the subjects born prematurely at 25 to 38 weeks were likelier to take the raisin early than those born at 39 to 41 weeks.

Medical Xpress reported the same children were evaluated around 8 years old.

"The findings concluded that the lower the gestational age, the lower a toddler's inhibitory control and the more likely those children would have poor attention skills and low academic achievement," according to Medical Xpress.

So what're the researchers hoping their findings might do?

They'll "point to potential innovative avenues to early intervention after preterm birth," Brooks Hays wrote for United Press International. The study could correct and identify learning problems among kids born early.

This new finding is a key piece in the puzzle of long-term underachievement after preterm birth, The Telegraph quoted study author Julia Jaekel as saying.

According to the Daily Mail, parents can try the test at home, though the results might differ.

The test can also be done with marshmallows, and The Telegraph noted a comparable one created in the 60s.

"The test is similar to the well-known Standford Marshmallow Test, which was developed in the 1960s to measure delayed gratification," The Telegraph reported. "Children were offered the choice between an immediate treat or two treats if they waited for 15 minutes."
Sign up for our e-newsletters