Atomic Habits

A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.

I recently read a book by James Clear called "Atomic Habits". It focuses on the idea that small changes in behavior can lead to the formation of new habits. Of course, it is important to be consistent.

Clear presents a framework for creating good habits and breaking bad ones by focusing on the small, incremental changes that compound over time. First, he lists the "Four Laws of Behavior Change":
Cue: It is the trigger (noticing the reward).
Craving: It is the motivation needed to act (wanting the reward).
Response: It is the action we perform to get the reward.
Reward: It is the end goal (what we wanted from the start).

He then lists 4 simple steps to building better habits:
1. Make it obvious
2. Make it attractive
3. Make it easy
4. Make it satisfying

Although the concept of "Atomic Habits" is for adults, they are life lessons that can be taught to children beginning at an early age.

Parents can create routines that will ultimately become habits. One activity in the "Don't Be That KID! At School Resource Guide" is to have children list some of their responsibilities, such as picking up toys, choosing what to wear, brushing teeth. Afterwards categorize them into: Morning Responsibilities, Afternoon Responsibilities, Night Responsibilities. It's important to point out that some occur more than once a day.

Another activity is to categorize responsibilities into: Home Responsibilities (clean my room), School Responsibilities (do my homework), Personal Responsibilities (brush my teeth).