Children often pick up bad habits when they are young. This can be anything from simple twitching or squinting all the way to the serious things such as swearing and biting. Sometimes, these habits can develop into more serious issues such as violence and bullying. We are sharing 4 ways on how to break children’s bad habits that parents should be aware of.
1. Breaking the bad habits: Tell them to stop
Children often do not realize that they are doing something. This is especially common with bad habits such as twitching and squinting their eyes. Sometimes it can just happen, although there are things that can spark it; however, simply ignoring it will not make it go away. It needs to be addressed. Simply tell them that they are doing it and tell them to stop it. This will tell them that they are doing something wrong, thus making them more aware of it so they can make an effort to stop it. Repeat this as much as necessary.
2. Let them grow out of the bad habit
If you have told them to stop a habit on more than one occasion, remember, the habit will not be broken instantly. It’s difficult to break the bad habits. Some children experience bad habits due to the growing up process. As they get older, children may simply break the habits. As parents, you may not even realize that they have stopped doing it as it just grows out in time. Address the habits and then forget about them, if they are not not serious, your child may simply grow out of them.
3. Seek professional help
Some bad habits in kids can develop into more serious problems that can hinder the development and educational process. This generally applies to habits that can cause violence and bullying such as aggressiveness, swearing, and being disrespectful. With the more serious bad habits, it could be very beneficial to seek professional help. Talk to your child’s doctor or GP about the situation or even take them to see a psychologist or psychiatrist to see if the problem could actually be a warning sigh for a mental disorder.
4. Bad habits, good habits
It’s also important to incorporate good habits in your children for them to become responsible adults. You can find out more by reading our article on 6 Good Habits For Kids to do everyday.
In many cases, bad habits in children are nothing to worry about and simply require parental addressing and monitoring as well as patience to see if the child eventually grows out of them or not. More serious bad habits, however, could actually be warning signs of potential mental illness and should be addressed by a professional. Monitor the situation, speak to the child’s teacher about their behaviour, and then seek professional or psychiatric help if the situation worsens or does not get any better.
