You trust your kids with others on a daily basis. Whether that be a babysitter, a teacher, a tutor, a coach, or other parents, there are a lot of outside influences on your child. But daily self-improvement is one of the strongest championship habits that you can help your child build.
The thought of daily self-improvement can be daunting for yourself, never mind building one with your child. However, a championship habit like daily self-improvement is one that will stick with your child and have lifelong benefits.
Building a daily habit takes time
At best, the simplest habit takes 21 days to complete. That is three weeks that your child must work together in order for a habit to become a daily routine. Those are going to be three difficult weeks, and ones where they might fail. Worse, the more complex the habit, the longer it will take. It is important to see these failures are learning opportunities with your child, not obstacles.
How can you help make those three weeks successful?
1. Set goals and review them. Goal setting is an important life skill for adults and children. Setting goals lets you and your kid know what you are working hard for and can inspire you after a setback.
2. Make it fun. No one likes to build habits, and odds are your child would rather be playing a game or doing pretty much anything else. Try to make your habit building as fun as you can. Make a game out of it, reward your child every few days or after every week, and try to make it seem as far from a chore as possible. That is not to say that you should not develop a strong work ethic with your child, but respect that they are still children.
3. Work with them! Every parent should know that they are their child’s biggest role model. Nothing influences their upbringing more than your habits. Make sure that you are there to support their habit building and that you display those same daily habits.
What are some daily self-improvement habits?
You and your child might have all the tools you need to start building a championship habit, but what can your child do to improve every single day? Here is a great list of habits to get you started.
1. Get enough sleep. Self-improvement starts before your child even wakes up. Make sure that they get to bed on time and that they have at least half an hour (or even an hour) without being in front of a screen. Being overstimulated before bed can lead to restlessness and long-term problems.
2. Wake up early. Waking up early might seem like the end of the world sometimes, but children and youth are much more adept at it than adults. Waking up early helps make the most of the day and doesn’t let your child fall into the bad habit of rushing around or running late.
3. Exercise. This doesn’t mean make your child hit the gym three or four times a week, that can actually stunt both physical and developmental growth. Make sure that your child gets at least an hour of physical activity a day after school. Whether it be playing outside, an organized sport, or a hike, get them moving.
4. Pursue their passion. Your child already learns a lot every day. It can be from a teacher, a coach, or the media, but they absorb and process a lot. Bombarding them with more information is not a healthy habit to build. Throughout all that learning, they will find things that they love to do. Nurture that passion and help them grow it – read or write with them, bike with them, draw a picture with them. Pursuing passion leads to a more curious mind as they grow older.
5. Reflect with them. Self-reflection might sound like one of the less-important methods of self-improvement, but that can’t be further from the truth. Ask your child how their day at school was and what they learned. Chat with them before bed about how soccer was, what they are reading, or what their friends are up to. By looking back on their day, you can celebrate the victories and learn from the setbacks.
There are so many ways to start building the championship habit of daily self-improvement that it can’t fit in one blog. Just like building a championship habit takes time, helping your child learn to improve themselves daily is a journey.
With a life coaches help (parents included!), kids can develop these championship habits and set themselves up for a lifetime of success.