Habit Heroes!

On a recent trip with my family to Innoventions at Epcot I was very pleased to see that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield are sponsoring a new attraction.  According to the teaser posters displayed in the construction area, “Habit Heroes” is coming to Innovations East at Epcot which will take the place of the "Don't Waste It" exhibit. 

                            Poster illustrating the power of a bad habit.

An online search doesn’t reveal much about the coming attraction other than some guesses posted on Disney discussion boards.  It appears that the attraction is geared to teach children about the power of a bad habit and what it takes to make new, healthy habits.  I certainly hope this is the case and I applaud Disney in this new endeavor. 

As a cognitive behavioral psychologist, I am focused on behavioral change.  Changing study habits, eating habits, or any behavioral change for that matter often follows a similar process.  First the behavior you want to change must be identified, new behaviors must be targeted, and then your day to day behaviors must be measured in an effort to reach your new behavioral goal.  Along the way motivation and commitment are bolstered along with establishing support and developing coping mechanisms for when things fall off track. 

For example, if a student wants to raise their grades, a snapshot of the process could be:

1)      Identify the Behavior to Change:  For the purpose of this example let’s say it’s to reduce “screen time” while increasing study time.

2)      Target New Behaviors: The student identifies that he will give up 30 minutes of TV and 30 minutes of video game playing per day for an extra 1 hour of studying.  This goal is written down by the student and reinforced in a self reinforcement statement.    

3)      Self Monitor New Behaviors: The student will start a log of how many minutes they participate in “screen time” behaviors, and how many minutes they spend studying per day. 

As you might be able to surmise, the process could very well be the same for changing other habits, such as to stop smoking, to stop using swear words, or to lose weight.  However it all beings with an awareness and building the determination to do something about your bad habit.  Also, it requires the belief that you are capable of changing your behavior and that changing behavior can help you reach a targeted goal.  If this exhibit at Innoventions helps equip young people with the basic tools to change bad habits, then this is surely a good thing. 

As a father to two young children and Disney season pass holder, I am often struck by the unhealthy food choices at Disney.  In fact I am so bothered by it I started a blog on the subject here.  In this regard Disney’s efforts to educate young people about establishing healthy habits is a step in the right direction. 

One memorable experience I recently had was watching the “One Man’s Dream” movie and exhibit at Hollywood Studios.  All of the photos in the exhibit and clips of Walt in the movie were taken from the 1960’s and early 1970’s.  I was struck by how everyone looked so healthy and very thin.  When the movie was over, the doors opened up and we went outside into the park and saw obese children eating oversized sugar treats and adults on mobility scooters too overweight to walk.  The contrast from the 1960’s movie to present was night and day.

However food is not the only changes in our modern environment our children face.  When I attended graduate school the subject of computer games, X-Box, Wii, and so on was never mentioned in class.  In my practice I make it standard protocol to ask parents of children with learning disabilities or suspected ADHD how much time their child participates in gaming activities.  There has been occasion where it was apparent that if the child would put the same amount of time, energy, and determination in their schoolwork that they do at X-Box, the parent might not even need the evaluation in the first place. 

The point here is that we are living in a world full of temptations that we as parents simply didn’t face growing up.  How many of us reading this post only had 3-5 TV channels growing up depending on the time of day or day of the week?  And not only did you have to get up to change the channel, but the TV channels all went to a test pattern at a certain time of the night as if to say, “You kids have watched enough TV for today!  Now go to bed!”  I distinctly remember staying up to watch Saturday Night Live as a child at night, and after the show was over America the Beautiful played and the station pulled the plug until 6am Sunday morning.  This was the same for all stations where I lived.

Now our kids have an endless supply of TV channels, and if nothing is on the DVR has recorded more shows than we could ever possibly watch.  We have the internet, video games, our kids have Nintendo DSI’s, i-pads, cell phones, and the list goes on and on.  We are truly living in a different environment; an environment full of limitless temptations, time killers, and unhealthy outlets for kids.  As adults we need to make every effort to teach kids the process of instilling good habits- for their health, education, and financial independence. 

If your child needs help in changing a habit and you are not able to correct it on your own, please use the Contact Form or call me at (813) 774-6340.