Habit is an activity that we undertake without hesitation and very regularly. It is often done without specific awareness and wasting cognitive resources. It is important for children to develop good habits in every possible area of ​​life.

In the development of appropriate habits in children, or in adults, we are helped by behavioral and cognitive-behavioral psychology. Both of them possessing huge achievements of empirical research distinguished six basic principles facilitating the development of specific habits. The individual steps are presented below.

  1. Make decision! At this point, it is important that this decision is conscious and personal. Therefore, before you force your child to work out some habits, motivate them to make the decision that they want to do it! For example, a child decides to read 10 pages of a book every day.
  2. Do not allow for exception! It is important not to allow situations when I give up an activity that is to become my habit. Of course, it should be approached with a great distance, e.g. if you have already failed to do the action, do not resign altogether just go back to shaping the habit the next day. For example, I try to eat healthy. After a month of proper nutrition, I happened to eat something unhealthy. Instead of giving up my sacrifices, I return to proper nutrition from the next day.
  3. Tell others! When we talk about what we want to achieve to other people, the given task is gaining a different, greater involvement for us.
  4. Visualization of yourself doing the habit! Try to imagine yourself doing the given activity. In this way you strengthen a given activity and transform it into a habit.
  5. Create affirmation! Find positive aspects of the habit you want to work out in yourself. Repeat for yourself what you gain by doing something. Affirmation should be short and always performed by the person who acquires the habit – it makes them more motivating.
  6. Reward yourself! The prize is very important. It has the greatest impact on the development of good habits and strengthening motivation, especially when the main goal is distant in time.                                                                                                                                                                                   When you apply the rules mentioned above, you will succeed in developing the same habits you want to have. They can be about different issues, i.e.healthy eating, hygiene, sleep, daily exercise, etc. It  all depends on you.