How to Help Your Child Set Habits That Will Last a Lifetime

Teaching your child good habits is not a trick. It is a life skill that they need to learn slowly and steadily. Good habits help a child stay healthy and happy all their life. As a parent, you can motivate your child to learn and practice good habits. These habits might include good social behavior, good manners, healthy eating, physical activities, reading, good hygiene habits, etc. Here are some interesting ways to help your child imbibe and develop good habits that will last a lifetime:  

1. Start young: When children are young, they are more likely to adopt certain behaviors. If kids start doing some things early in life, including simple habits like brushing their teeth, maintaining hygiene, using magic words like please, thank you, etc., it becomes second nature. They will continue following these habits for a lifetime.  
2. Practice what you preach: As parents, your child observes and follows you more than he/she listens to you. You have to set an example for how you want your child to behave. So the most important thing to do is to ensure you get it right. If you want your child to behave in a certain way, ensure you practice what you preach, at least in front of them. 
3. Don’t try to over help: The first thing you want to do when your child struggles is help and fix the problem. Do not. It might help them the first time. However, letting them figure it out will help them grow and learn a new skill by getting their hands dirty.
4. Show encouragement: Most people like a bit of encouragement. When the child does something independently, ensure that you encourage them to act on that behavior. When your child learns something new or does something nice for someone, encourage them and let them know it is appreciated. It imbibes positive behavior in them. 
5. Encourage independence: Kids often get scared and insecure about a lot of things. However, if children do something by themselves or want to learn something independently, just let them. Year after year, the rules change, and that is how they learn. 
6. Negotiate: You don’t always need to give in to everything your child wants. Start negotiating. Let your children know there are consequences to what they want, and they need to accept it. It will not help to talk down to them. The child must learn that negotiation is an essential aspect of growing up and functioning as a responsible adult. 
7. Set achievable goals: Not everyone has the same kind of goals. So, set achievable ones that you believe your child can attain. Sometimes, you might fail too, by over-or underestimating him/her. But make sure you try again and see that you get the next set of goals right. It helps them develop practical thinking. 
8. Keep at it: It is imperative to keep at what you are trying to imbibe in your child. It means no breaks, no matter how frustrated you are or exhausted. If there is a specific thing that you want your child to do, the child needs to do it or face the outcome. 
9. Follow through with rules: When you make a promise, or a rule, good or bad, stick with it. It instills responsibility and commitment in your child and teaches your child that you and he/she must live up to the word. If you slip up on your word and pretend it did not work, the child will think words come cheap and can be ignored. 
10. Be patient: Finally, remember the child is what he/she is, just a child. If you learn to be patient, just by watching how you respond, the child could learn to be patient too. Many studies show that children from dysfunctional relationships could end up becoming dysfunctional. So make sure you are patient every step of the way. 

Finally, if you want your child to develop lifelong good habits, follow the above tips. Good habits help them achieve a level of discipline and self-control and ensure they improve their surroundings. So keep at it and see your child become a wonderful human being.