5 Good Habits For Kids To Learn

It’s just a fact that building new habits (and breaking old ones) is much harder as an adult than it is as a kid. So as parents, it’s our job to make sure that our kiddos form plenty of good habits during childhood that will serve them later on! Which is why today’s post is all about good habits for kids, and how you can help your children obtain them.

So let’s start off by covering the “habit-building basics”!

How can you help a child form a habit?

When it comes to helping a child build a habit, there are a few strategies to keep in mind. And they are as follows…

• Setting A Good Example – Kids learn a lot from their environment and what they see other people do, especially people they look up to (like their parents). So the “do as I say, not as I do” approach doesn’t work as well as some people think. To truly teach your kids to form good habits, you need to show them those habits in action!
• Incorporating The Habits Into Their Routines – Routines and structure can do wonders for kids, as they obviously need help to learn how to be disciplined. And having a schedule is actually a good habit all on its own! So not only should your child have some sort of routine, but you should use this as a way to keep their habits a part of their daily life as well.
• Cheering Them On When They Do Well – Positive reinforcement goes a long when it comes to teaching your kids. So not only should you offer them plenty of praise for keeping up with their habits, but you should probably consider offering them the occasional treat or reward as well!

And you may have noticed by reading this list that there was a common thread in all the tips… You have to stay involved in the process! Being involved in your child’s life, keeping up with what (and how) they’re doing, and making adjustments as necessary is the single most important factor in all of this.

What are good habits for kids to form?

Now let’s actually jump into the habits you should be teaching your kids…

1. Kindness And Respect

If there’s one thing we all want our kids to be, it’s kind to others! Because not only is being kind and respectful important from a moral standpoint… But these traits can also help your child advance in life, and be shown kindness and respect in return.

So here are some ideas for putting this in action…

• Doing family-friendly charity work
• Teaching your kids manners, both towards their elders and their peers
• And making sure to treat your kids with respect in return, even when they are still children!

2. Healthy Practices

For their own longevity and quality of life, you should also put a heavy focus on teaching your kids how to be healthy. Both through diet and fitness! Because if you don’t, they could form opposing habits… Aka being sedentary, eating junk food, etc.

Good habits for kids that revolve around health would be things like…

• Exercising daily
• Having a bedtime
• Drinking plenty of water
• And eating fruits and vegatables!

3. Good Hygiene

In our society, hygiene is important. And your level of cleanliness can affect everything from how people perceive you, to whether or not you’ll get a job, to how healthy you’ll be! So it goes without saying that having good hygiene and grooming yourself regularly is an important habit to have.

You can teach your child this by making sure they…

• Brush their teeth daily
• Bathe regularly
• Brush their hair often
• Wash their hands as needed
• And always wear clean clothes!

4. Hobbies

Having hobbies is important for many reasons. Such as improving your mental health, developing your passions, and learning new skills. And they’re not just for adults! In fact, I think in addition to kids having hobbies themselves… every family should have a hobby that they pursue together.

Examples of hobbies that are good for kids could be…

• Reading a little bit each day
• Painting and drawing
• Learning to play an instrument
• Or playing a sport they enjoy!

5. Responsibility

Finally, kids can benefit greatly from learning a sense of responsibility from the time they’re young. And furthermore, other traits that tend to go along with this can be beneficial too. Such as being reliable and showing up for others, being productive, and not procrastinating.

Here are some ways they can practice this…

• Completing their chores
• Finishing their homework on time
• Taking care of a pet
• And eventually (in their teens), having a part-time job!

How can you keep your child from forming bad habits?

I can’t talk about good habits for kids, without mentioning their counterparts as well. And more specifically, how to keep your children from forming them instead of positive habits!

Firstly, teaching your child good habits should keep many bad ones at bay. But the most important thing is once again… being involved! If you notice negative habits while they’re still forming, you stand a better chance of “nipping them in the bud” so to speak.

Strategies for this include…

• Explaining to your child why the habit is bad
• Giving your child an alternative to the bad habit
• And staying patient with them while they try to break it.

Final Thoughts

Instilling the right habits in your kiddos is such a vital part of parenting, and can really set them up for success. So I hope you found this article helpful, and you’ll incorporate these habits into your child’s life if you haven’t already.

As always, thanks for reading this post. And if you’d like to read more parenting content, please check out the rest of my blog. I’ve had decades of experience as a mom, and it’s been one of my favorite parts of life. So I love sharing what I’ve learned with other parents.