Learning

Good Habits to Inculcate

Written by Do I Editorial

Tired of yelling at your child for not listening to you? Well, this is a problem that most parents face these days. Every parent wishes for his child to grow into a responsible, sensible, well-behaved contributing member of the society. However, wishful thinking isn’t just enough! Inculcating good habits in your child right from a young age is essential to achieve this. Again, this is easier said than done! Every time you try and be patient with him, his naughtiness gets the better of you. Screaming, yelling, remonstrating, punishing seem the only ways to you to keep him under your control. However, you must remember than children are imitators and they copy every activity you do. While dealing with children it is important that you use your patience and adult maturity to teach him the right things of life. Here are some good habits that every child should be taught and a few clever ways of teaching them to your child, without having to yell your lungs out:

* Time Management
Does your child shirk away from homework or procrastinate for no reason? To teach him the value of time, you must learn to manage your time yourself. Usually, in a family where both parents are office goers, there is a paucity of time for the family. Re-organise your schedule and take out time to be with your child. When you do things in an organised manner, all the other things fall into place automatically. You can take out more time for your family and can also pay attention to your child’s behaviour and activities. Inculcate the same values in your child. Teach him the importance of doing his homework on time, revising his lessons every day, having his meals on time and going to bed on time. These values when inculcated at an early age will stay with him for a long time ahead.

* Knock Before Coming In
You may think it is all right for your children to barge into your bedroom at any time. But this again is a bad habit. Imagine if he does the same somewhere else, where his action leads to an embarrassing situation. Inculcate the habit of knocking on the door before entering a room. You can use signboards on your bedroom to teach him the same. You can easily find ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign placards in the market. Hang one of these signs outside your bedroom door and teach your child that he should knock on the door and ask for permission before entering the room, if the sign is hung outside. Once conditioned, you will not need the sign anymore and he will practice this good habit without your initiation.

* Dealing with Anger
This is where you need to exercise your adult maturity and composure the most. Children can throw tantrums, stomp their feet in anger; but these are activities that need to be discouraged. You can take a corrective session and use a role playing activity to make your children realise how they behave in a situation that angers them. Instead of screaming or yelling at them, it is important that you make them realise the importance of maintaining their composure in situations that can aggravate them. Teach them deep breathing exercises to help them control their anger and aggression. Achieving success may be a little difficult initially, but with your persistent efforts and support, they will pick up soon.

* Organisational Skills
Have you ever wished your children would tidy their rooms and not leave their toys and books on the floor? Does your back hurt, cleaning up after them? Teach your child the importance of organising his personal items in order by asking them to joining you in cleaning up their room. Make it a fun activity. Distribute responsibilities and this will make them feel more important and understand how to fulfil their responsibilities. Make it a weekly activity and, slowly, they will know how to keep their things in order on their own.

* Personal hygiene
Coaxing your little one to take a bath may be one of the most difficult things that you have to do in a day. Teach them the importance of maintaining personal hygiene through interesting stories. You can also make them brush with you for a few days to get them into the habit of brushing their teeth before going to bed every night. Teach them the right way to brush and floss.

* Respecting Elders
Children learn a lot of things at home from their parents. You have to act as a role model in matters such as respecting elders. Be an ideal for them in the way you interact, speak and behave with your elders. If you have elderly people at home, your children will emulate your behaviour and behave in the same manner as you do with your elders.

* Speaking the Truth and Being Honest
Children can get into the habit of lying very easily. The lies may be regarding seemingly insignificant things such as their homework, their test results, an altercation at school etc. However, it is important that you check this habit in time. Teach them the importance of truth. Tell them stories about honest people so that they get an idea of how honesty is valued in the society.

* Saying Sorry
You can easily teach your children to say sorry for their mistakes by being a role model for them. Admit your mistakes, however small they are, in front of your family and say sorry. Children look up to their parents and emulate their behaviour and speech. By saying sorry yourself, you inculcate in your child’s mind that there is nothing to be ashamed of in making a mistake and admitting it. As they grow up, they will never have a problem in admitting their mistakes and asking for forgiveness.

Like Gandhiji said, ‘Be the Change You Want to See in Others’; it is important that you practice these good values at home yourself. That is the easiest and most effective way of inculcating these values in your little ones.

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