As the summer vacations are now coming to an end, its time for all kids to march back to school with their school bags and some new habits (both, good and bad habits). For parents, its always a question of dilemma on how to teach their fussy toddler some good habits and how to break the bad ones. After all, everyone wants their kids to be the best in the class, especially after a long summer break where parents happen to spend more time on the kids at home.
Summer Vacations are a time when kids spend all their time around their parents, seeing and learning things from them. What you do as a parent, they Follow you, irrespective of whether it is good or bad. Some kids learn good habits seeing their parents and the environment in the house, while at times they also happen to learn bad habits just as easily as they learn the good habits. Thus, it becomes a very daunting task for a parent to mold their kids beautifully, with all the Good Habits. But, is it really easy to teach kids good habits while breaking the bad ones? Not really. It requires a lot of patience, anticipation and understanding. Think you can manage it alone? Well, if not then here are some tips you can use to teach your child good manners and habits. Read these points, inculcate them in your life, follow them strictly and then start teaching your child the good habits you want them to grasp before he/she joins school.
- Be their Ideal
Children learn almost everything from their parents and the elders in the family, including the grandparents, maids and other relatives. So, if you want your child to learn something, make sure that you follow it first. Seeing you, they will automatically develop the habit themselves, without you having to teach them anything.
For instance, Saying Thank You, You Are Welcome, May I take This, or even doing things like Washing hands before your meal, not poking your nose, etc. Make sure you follow them first and only then teach your child about them.
- Use games to teach good manners
It is a basic concept in children that when you try to teach them something, they will follow you only until they Want to. Once they are tired, they will not make an effort in following your instructions. Instead, you will be highly frustrated to see them running around and playing their toys rather than listening to you. So, how do you make teaching Good Habits interesting?
The answer is simple, Use Creativity to teach them Habits. For instance, use games to teach them manners. Challenge your child to wash his hands himself or eat his food without spilling. Set Rewards for them and make it a competition between you and your child. This way, they will surely learn things better and faster.
- Practice the Good Habits
Once you have taught your child a few needed good habits, remember to practice them regularly. Follow the habits in sync with your child, making sure that he sees you follow the habits.
For instance, if you have taught your child the habit of greeting people, remember to greet people when your kid is around you. Also, ask your kid to greet everyone like you did. This way, he will get into a good habit of greeting people automatically.
- Read Stories related to Good Habits
Read story books that highlight good habits to your kid. More than following instructions, kids love reading story books with imaginary characters and super powers. So, simply look for story books that are related to Good Habits. Girls love Barbies and Cinderella while boys love super heroes such as Batman, Spiderman, etc.
