Common Toddler Habits & Ways to Help Kids Break Their Bad Habits

As children grow, they tend to pick up some habits and behaviours that can be annoyingly frustrating. Although these habits may seem irritating and hard to handle, let’s take a moment to relax. When you want to change an unwanted behaviour, it helps to first understand why your child is overreacting.

What’s a Habit?
A habit is a pattern of behaviour that children tend to do repeatedly, almost unaware that they are doing it. Parents would usually notice them as they are around them all the time. Toddlers’ habits usually involve:

1. Thumb sucking

   

   Thumb sucking is one of the most common habits that toddlers undergo soon after they are born and continues until the age of 2-4 years or longer if not being stopped. Thumb sucking is a natural sucking reflex in babies where it makes them keep their thumbs or fingers in their mouth. Many kids suck their thumbs as it makes them feel secure and often helps kids get to sleep.

2. Hair pulling

   Ever notice whenever your toddlers don’t get their way, they tend to grab a handful of hair closest to them and pull? It is a cognitive skill that they developed to reason things out, take control or express their feelings.

3. Nose picking

   

   Nose picking is also one of the common habits of children of all age groups and even adults. This habit is being developed due to the fact of boredom or mucus build-up. While you may not be able to get rid of the nose picking habit entirely, it is upon parents to teach their children that nose picking can cause infection, allergies, or minor trauma.

4. Chewing on objects

   

   Children use their mouths to explore the world as they chew on objects. However, some children tend to chew on inedible objects instead of their favourite food or snack. The most common explanation for why some children chew is because of boredom, anxiety, sensory stimulation, etc.

Ways to Cope with Your Child’s Habit

The good news is – most habits go away by themselves and usually outgrow by the time a child reaches school age! However, if you think their habits are getting out of hand and it is time to help your child to break their habit(s), consider these 6 steps!

1. How bad is it?

   Analyse whether it is a minor or major, harmful or just plain annoying habit. It is important to know as bad habits may take on a different form as children get older. Once you analyse how big of a problem your kid’s habit is, move on to the next steps.

2. What’s the cause of the habit?

   

   Does stress, boredom, excitement, tiredness, etc trigger the behaviour of the habit?

3. Come up with a way to overcome the habit.

   Once the cause of habit is being identified, come up with ways to overcome the habit. For example, if your child sucks her thumb when she feels tired or insecure, lay down or carry them to feel warm and close to you. If your child keeps picking their nose, encourage them to use a tissue and explain that it does not look good in public. Suggest alternative behaviours as it will distract them and help break the unwanted habit.

4. Motivate and reward.

   

   Positive reinforcement is key in coping with your child’s habits. Reward and praise to help as a habit breaker. Set up a system where whenever your child refrains from thumb sucking, reinforce with a positive behaviour by praising and also rewarding him at the same time. A sticker chart can be used as a rewards system. The more stickers your child gets, it can be exchanged for a prize.

5. Don’t overreact.

   

   Yelling, shaming, punishment, or criticism is not a way to help them break their habit. Patience is the key as you work through the process together. Be consistent in rewarding and motivating as a positive habit must be established before the bad one disappears.

It is hard enough to break our own habits, so the key is patience, yet to be consistent with the steps. To alleviate the cause behind your child’s habit, understanding and keeping calm while correcting your child can help them overcome these bad habits.