For over 10 years, the Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab at the University of Chicago has been investigating how parents make decisions. A key insight from our research is that what parents do does not always align with what they intend to do. This “intention-action gap” can reduce parents’ engagement with their children, which in turn interferes with children’s skill development.

This gap is a common characteristic of decision-making. People plan to save for retirement or stick to diets, but often fall short of their goals. In parenting, the stakes are higher: Not reading a bedtime story or skipping a day of preschool may seem momentarily insignificant, but small gaps in learning time accumulate over time, making it increasingly difficult for children’s skills to catch up.

Why do well-intentioned parents sometimes struggle to follow through with engaging their children, and how can behavioral science help parents close the intention-action gap?

The field of behavioral economics offers insights into what creates intention-action gaps and our research identifies practical ways to bridge the gap. Many of these approaches rely on the concept of “nudges” — subtle changes in how choices or information are presented that make the desired action easier or more likely to occur. In parenting, nudges often come in the form of reminders, feedback, or other simple tools sent through digital technology. These nudges acknowledge that busy parents aren’t failing to engage their children in learning activities that are key to the child’s future because they lack love, knowledge, or good intentions; rather, daily life is full of friction and temptations.

Our research has shown that “present bias,” a manifestation of the intention-action gap, is central to parenting choices. Parents, like everyone, often prioritize immediate rewards over future benefits. Raising a child requires long-term effort; while considerable research shows that reading books to a toddler boosts their language skills in the future, the benefits of today’s actions can be long delayed. Meanwhile, daily distractions and fatigue demand immediate attention.

Read the full article about closing the parenting intention-action gap by Ariel Kalil and Susan E. Mayer at The 74.