The habit of habits

In the first place, she herself acquires the habit of training her children in a given habit, so that by-and-by it becomes, not only no trouble, but a pleasure to her.

Charlotte Mason, vol 1 pg 136

I have gotten in the habit of thinking about our habits. When I first attempted to start 'habit training' my kids I chose a concrete habit to work on. I forget quite what it was, it might have been the habit of hanging up your coat when you come in the door. It was simple and straightforward, or so I thought.

My first attempts were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, I did not have the key habit in place first, obedience. If my children were not going to do what I asked of them, no other habits would be formed.

I have come to view most of our daily lives through a filter of habit. When the kids are fighting I make mental notes to work on the habit of listening to each other, or the habit of sharing. I celebrate the habits they have worked hard to master. If our day is going smoothly, I know it is because of an underlying structure of habit. If our day is rocky, there is work to be done.

Choosing the most effective habit to attack first is often difficult when there seem to be so many that would help. Red flags jump up everywhere, demanding my attention. Untangling the nest of bad habits is not easy.

Our current habit is to 'treat others the way you would like to be treated'. They immediately translated this statement into 'treat others the way they are treating you'. We still have a ways to go on this concept. I am eagerly anticipating developing the habit of 'not complaining' next.

Our habit of getting outside in nature.

We haven't been habit training for very long, but I see the rewards already. I know that we are on the right path, one habit at a time.