Your little one has started taking baby steps towards learning process and you are already freaking out. This is the age when the parents should start inculcating good habits in their children. Developing good habits is a process and takes time. Don’t rush yourself.

Follow these 11 tips shared below:

• Start with basics: You should start with the basic things like brushing teeth, washing hands before and after a meal, eating food by themselves, taking a shower, hygiene etc. It’s never too early to begin these habits.
• Set yourself as a role model: Children always learn from their parents. They try to imitate their elders. Before teaching your children, you should implement what you are going to teach your child.
• Imbibe Good manners: Teach your child how to be polite and gentle, how to behave properly in front of guests and how to behave with elders as well as peers. Teach him the meaning and usage of phrases like thank you, sorry, welcome and like.
• Create a positive environment: Your child should feel happy and positive around you. It may happen that your youngster has made some mistake for which you feel like yelling. This creates a negative reinforcement in the child. Instead of shouting and scolding, you can make him understand his mistake and why he should not repeat it in future. Don’t use abusive language before your children.
• Have family dinners: Having dinner with family on the same table creates a sense of family attachment in the child. While eating with the family, your child is less likely to consume unhealthy food.
• Physical activity: Physical activity not only includes outdoor games or sports but also household chores like arranging book shelf, keeping toys at proper place, walking the dog and like. This not only imbibes a feeling of bonding within the child but also develops a sense of responsibility.
• Reward your child: You can reward your children on completion of certain task or for some behavior. He will be motivated to maintain his good behavior. But mind it that never reward your child with materialistic things like video games or chocolates. Try to come up with other ways to celebrate his good behavior. Take him to a long drive, go for a swimming together, play some games or even some simple words of appreciation will do.
• Read out stories to your kid: You may have a hectic schedule but do take some time out to read stories to him. Choose stories like good over bad or fables. In this way your child will get to know the morals. His vocabulary will also improve. Also encourage him to read the books by himself.
• Value his opinions: Many people do not seem to realize that kids have their say and opinion. Ask them about what they think of a particular situation. You can also ask his opinion about any family function. The child will feel valuable.
• Set a time table: Once he starts going school, prepare a time table for him and specify his time for every activity including, playing, watching TV or studying. Be flexible. Let him skip some activities or do them later when he asks.
• Be realistic with your expectations:  Each child’s learning capability is different. Don’t force him to hurry. It’s okay to let him progress at his own pace. Don’t compare him with other children. Like adults, children too do not like being compared.