Bad habits are inherent in every person. But adults understand their harm, try to monitor their behavior, and children, due to their age, are unable to even realize the presence of behavioral reflexes. The task of parents is to notice the manifestation of bad habits in their child as early as possible and prevent them from developing into a stable pattern of behavior. After all, it is not only ugly, but also dangerous for the health of the child. Thumb sucking can lead to malocclusion, nail biting can lead to infection, and nose picking can damage the nasal mucosa and bleed.
Types of bad habits in children
The reasons for the emergence of bad habits in children can be different, therefore, for an adequate response, it is necessary to analyze the situation in the family, the circumstances of the child’s life, and the educational methods of parents, https://argoprep.com/blog/culturally-responsive-teaching-what-you-should-know/. Bad habits of children can be divided into two groups: imitative and caused by psychological reasons.
Imitative habits: nose-picking, shuffling, loud speech and active gestures, use of parasitic words and swear words. Adults should pay attention to their habits and, possibly, adjust their behavior. After all, children will not understand why they should not do the same as their parents.
Habits of a psychological type: nail biting, sucking fingers or clothes, pulling hair. Such habits require a serious approach, constant monitoring, in some cases, the help of a psychologist may be needed.
Causes of bad habits in a child
Stress;
Lack of attention from parents;
Constant criticism of the child.
What can parents do
Noticing the manifestation of a bad habit, you should unobtrusively distract him by offering a new activity or a walk or a https://argoprep.com/blog/building-professional-learning-communities/. At the same time, you can’t discuss his “wrong” behavior, shame, punish and take a promise “not to do it again”, this will only fix his unconscious action in the child’s brain and make it difficult to get rid of a bad habit.
Come up with new games, interest him in creative pursuits, in some kind of sport, be sure to praise and sincerely rejoice at his success. All this should give the child positive emotions, relieve nervous tension, and calm.
Thumb sucking most often occurs before falling asleep. To help the child calm down and fall asleep quickly, you need to remove all causes of nervous tension. Get into the habit of telling stories every night before bed or stroking your child’s hair. If a child is afraid of the dark, you need to take care of a night light in the nursery, do not watch aggressive cartoons and scary stories before going to bed.
The habit of biting nails is most often a manifestation of a child’s self-doubt, therefore, in such a situation, it is advisable to praise him for something, call him an assistant, be surprised that he is already such an adult. All methods of increasing self-esteem are good, additional feasible responsibilities, praise for new achievements. A conversation about the microbes that live under the nails helps a lot, a story about how ugly bitten nails look. It is strictly forbidden to smear mustard on your fingers, this will only cause resentment and stress in the child.
The ugly habit of childish masturbation is overcome by switching the child to another activity. You should not draw attention to the genitals while bathing, caress the child excessively, put on tight clothes. Be sure to follow the rules of hygiene to avoid itching.
The habit of saying bad words or cursing is almost always an imitation of parents. The best method of getting rid of it is the constant control of parents over their speech. The child may hear swear words on the street, from friends or acquaintances. But if the parents explain which words are good and which should not be spoken and why, then the child will listen to the opinion of the parents. If this is not explained, then the child’s speech will gradually become clogged with bad words more and more.
Fighting the bad habits of children, it is necessary to show a sense of proportion amd read https://argoprep.com/blog/types-of-assessments-everything-you-need-to-know/. Excessive attention to the behavior of children is as harmful as complete ignorance. It is better to use switching attention to other interesting activities than to constantly pull up and forbid something. The key to success will be the choice of the right strategy of action, patience, trust and love.