Habits

Did you have to write a note to remind you to put on clothes this morning? No… because it’s a habit.

In fact, you probably showered, brushed your teeth, dressed, ate something and got yourself to the bus stop… without even switching your brain on. It’s just a bunch of habits and you did it all effortlessly and automatically. Life would be so exhausting if you didn’t have habits.

The quality of your children’s life will depend on their habits. You can give them habits now that will serve them for a life time. If they get habits of study, politeness, hard work and healthy eating – man, they will have a great life, truly.

A couple of things about habit forming – first don’t expect your kids to enjoy yoru routines, at the start anyway. You have to love them enough to resist their whining and grizzling.  

And you have to do it over and over. Some people say it takes three weeks to set up a new habit, but they could be the same people that don’t know what they are talking about. A habit takes as long as it takes, and it might take years for them to get in to the habit of doing chores or cleaning their rooms.  So be consistent – watch out that holidays or sickness or their mates don’t undermine those good habits.
By the way – don’t expect your kids to ever thank you for their good habits – they probably won’t even notice they have them.

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