The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days. On the other hand, she who lets habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction. The mother needs to acquire her own habit of training her children so that, by and by, it is not troublesome to her, but a pleasure. She devotes herself to the formation of one habit in her children at a time, doing no more than watch over those already formed. Forming a habit is using perseverance to work against a contrary habit.
Formation is easier than reformation.
Nip the weed in the bud. An emphasis on the humanities. Short lessons, especially for drills and skills. Formation of good habits. I'm on my last line.