Young person's home and study work. You might pick up a few good habits yourself.

Did you know you can influence young people’s habits more than you'd think? Let's talk about getting your young person to do their homework without EVEN asking!

Four steps: Make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. Nagging, bribing, or threatening? Nope, not on this list!

Let's break it down:

1. Make it obvious: Use a cue that grabs attention. Clear suggests habit stacking, where you add a new habit to an existing one. For instance, after an after-school snack (current habit), they check what homework is due tomorrow (new habit). The key is to start small.

2. Make it attractive: Kids love control. Please give them the reins on how, when, and where they enforce a new habit. Ask them if they want to start their homework before or after dinner. Let them decide when to put their …. mobile devices away.

3. Make it easy: You know how you can't resist that comfy couch after a long day? That's how doing homework should feel to your young person at home. So, how about setting up a cozy homework station? Nothing fancy, just a quiet spot with all the stationery they need. No more "I can't find my pencil" excuses!

4. Make it satisfying: Remember when you were young and got a gold star for a job well done? Yeah, that felt good, right? So, why not bring back the gold star system? Or maybe they can pick the movie on Friday night if they've been consistent with their homework or even decide to play the same computer game together (young people like to engage their parents in showing them what they do online).

Remember, the goal isn't to turn your home into a boot camp. It's about instilling good habits to stick with your young person at home in the long run. So, take a deep breath, put on your patience cap, and get ready to ditch the nagging for good!
And that's just the beginning!

#parenting #workhabits #youthmentalhealth #findyourvoice