How to easily and simply form useful habits in children?

Games have been replayed, books have been reread, movies and cartoons are already making you sick, and your home has never been this clean? Yes, this is the situation in almost every family around the world today. Looking for ideas on what to do during quarantine when everything is already boring?

Start instilling healthy habits and qualities in your child—and in yourself. We assure you—you won’t have to strain yourself—just live your normal life and use the tips and tools we offer in this article, based on our own experience.

A few words about the main thing...

The world is changing—we are gradually coming together and becoming one big society. The purpose of everything happening now is to realize that the Earth is our common home, and the mission of each of us is to take care of it and preserve it for future generations. And for this, we need to change our lifestyle and cultivate awareness and humanity in ourselves and in our children.

This includes taking care of your health, personal development, and relationships with yourself and the world around you. Self-isolation is the best time to work on all of this, because later there will be no time again.

Now think about what habits and qualities you want to instill in your child? What do you consider most important in life? Thought about it? Great.

But to ensure your efforts don’t go to waste, let’s first focus on the principles of raising children and forming good habits.

How to properly instill good habits in a child?

Follow the simple rules described below, and there will be fewer conflicts and misunderstandings between you and your children. And working on good habits will be perceived as part of everyday life.

RULE 1. "Don’t pressure"

Forget words like "you must," "you have to," "because I said so," and don’t make up scary stories like "if you disobey, a mean someone will come and take you away." These are ineffective parenting methods. Or rather, they work, but in the opposite direction. Modern children are different, and you need to learn to negotiate with them.

RULE 2. "Lead by example and do it together"

Don’t make your child do something you don’t do yourself. Nothing will come of it. Want your daughter to stretch in the mornings? Start doing it yourself and invite her to join. Proven—it works 100%. As they say, seeing is believing.

RULE 3. "Explain"

Why should a child brush their teeth regularly, wash their hands, and clean their room? Because it’s necessary and correct? No, the child doesn’t understand that. To convince them, give examples of possible scenarios: "If you don’t wash your hands, you’ll get sick. If you get sick, you won’t be able to go outside. If you can’t go outside, you’ll be bored at home..." and so on.

Emphasize what is important to the child and what they might lose if they don’t listen.

RULE 4. "Don’t rush"

A week has passed, and the new habit hasn’t taken hold? That’s normal—be patient. Scientists have proven that forming and solidifying new habits takes at least 66 days. This is the average time. It all depends on the complexity of the process or task.

Introduce new habits slowly and subtly so that changes don’t cause stress or resistance in the child.

RULE 5. "Praise"

Praise and encourage your child, notice their achievements. Did they clean their room? Tell them they’re great, your helper, and you’re proud of them. Couldn’t tie their shoelaces alone? Help them and say that with time, everything will work out.

Be attentive to your child, and they will surely try to please you more often.

RULE 6. "Choose the right moment"

Don’t interrupt your child or nag them with your activities if they’re playing. It’s better to choose a moment when they’re bored or don’t know what to do. Then your idea is more likely to be a hit.

RULE 7. "No more than 3 habits at a time"

Don’t try to instill 10 new habits in your child at once if you don’t want to waste time. It’s better to add one per week or move on to a new task only when the previous ones have taken hold.

Now let’s move on to implementation.

How to introduce new habits into life using a tracker?

Special tools are needed for successful planning and introducing new habits. We suggest you try trackers. They help move from words to action faster. It’s like a to-do list in a planner. When you write it down, it’s easier to plan, execute, and track progress.

What is a habit tracker?

It’s a table consisting of mini-steps that the child completes daily. The advantage of a habit tracker is that the child can do their daily tasks without your reminders and simultaneously learn planning.

Life hack! Want your child to use a tracker? Set an example. Make your own tracker and use it daily. Additionally, this approach will inspire all household members with the idea of self-improvement and help unite the family during tough times.

How to make one?

Write down on a separate sheet what habits and qualities you want to instill in your child. For example:

Then think about the rules!

For example:

1. Every 3–4 days, add one new habit while continuing to work on previous ones.
2. Each day, when completing a task, such as cleaning up toys independently, the child marks it with a checkmark or an X.
3. Come up with a reward based on the number of checkmarks. For 4 marks in a week next to a task in the tracker—a reward is given; less than 4—no reward. For 25 checkmarks in 30 days—the right to choose a super prize, etc.
4. Allow some flexibility. For example, you can skip exercise on weekends or any other day of the week, but only if the tasks are completed later.
5. Summarize and celebrate achievements. Thanks to daily practice, the child learned to stand on their head? Great! Mark this day in red in the tracker and calendar, saying that now you have another reason to celebrate.

Now let’s create the tracker itself!

Take 2 or 4 A4 sheets or poster paper. Glue the sheets together and draw lines in the following order (see examples in the images below).

Columns:

1. Who—name.
2. I will do this every day—write down tasks and new habits here.
3. Monthly calendar—days of the week and dates.

In the "I will do this every day" column, list the tasks and activities for the day. Schedule them so that new tasks and habits fit into the daily routine, even when life returns to normal.

For example:

7:15 – glass of water + exercise;

7:25 – cool shower;

10:00 – snack: fruits, nuts, etc.

11:00 – room cleaning: dusting, putting things in the closet, etc.

Your tracker can look however you like. But if you don’t want to reinvent the wheel, you can download the ready-made "Healthy Habits Planner" from Kidskay.

The main thing is that it’s convenient for you and your children. The goal of such calendars is not to make them perfect but to achieve the desired results—becoming more organized and united, consistently accomplishing what you set out to do, and cultivating new qualities and habits.

At the same time, don’t forget to talk more with your children and explain everything to them. Start now, and it will become a habit for your whole family to constantly improve. And the time spent at home will be remembered as the most interesting and productive period of your life.