result in saving of energy, but will also give assurance that in
certain situations the child will act in the right way. If it is
worth while to have a person knock on a door before entering an
occupied room, or if it is worth while to have people look to the
left and to the right before crossing a thoroughfare, the child can
acquire the habit of doing these things always and everywhere
without stopping to make a decision on each occasion.

But we must remember that in guiding the child to the formation of
these habits, example and practice are far more important than
precepts and rules. Example is more important because the child is
very imitative; one rude act on the part of some older member of the
household will counteract the benefit of many verbal lessons in
politeness. Practice is important because it is through constant
repetition of an act that it at last becomes automatic, and is
performed without thought or attention. In fact, this is the only
way in which a habit can be formed. Having acquired habits about the
common relations of life that do not call for new adjustment every
time they are met, the mind is left free to apply itself to problems
that really need special consideration. Imagine how wasteful it
would be if we had to attend to every movement in dressing
ourselves! You can easily see that there are a great many acts that
bring us in relation to others and that should be as mechanical and
automatic as dressing and undressing.

It is when we pass from the routine acts which are repeated every
day that we come to the field in which the will holds sway. There is
nothing more helpful in the training of the will than the frequent
performance of tasks requiring application, self control, and the
making of decisions. The routine of fixed duties in a large and