Habiit - a tool for mastering school
Sometimes we as adults can take it for granted that everyday life and school is something that should just work. But this is not always the case. In such difficult situations, we sometimes need tools.
Not all days are good days. Most people can recognize themselves in the feeling of waking up with a stomach ache because we dread something. It can be about a meeting or a task that we do not know how to approach. Then the ache can grow and become one large unwieldy tangle.
So it is with our children. Sometimes things can seem more and more complicated and unsolvable as the daily routines are carried out and the school day approaches. The child may struggle to get an overview and may feel insecure in the face of all the demands and expectations around them.
Since 2018, we have worked closely with researchers, educators, social educators and children to find a solution that is easy to use, and which can make everyday life easier and more motivating for those children and families who need a little extra help. The goal has been to create a tool that can help the child and the adults, so that together they can pull the right threads to help loosen the knot.
Habiit is an app that will make going to school more manageable, a little less scary and a little more fun. That's why we call Habiit a school game - it is both useful and fun, and is based on insight into children's media habits and everyday life.
Habiit is based on the following three principles: structure, motivation and reflection.
Structure
Habiit provides a better overview of everything that happens during the week, and makes everyday life easier to deal with. All the routines are presented in a visual, clear and orderly way. Every morning the child wake up the habiit. Then the app shows which morning routines the child should complete. Habiit also has a calendar that provides a neat and visual overview of everything that happens at school during the week.
Motivation
Habiit has a reward system that gives positive feedback every time the child completes a task or answers a question. This triggers a reward that is given in the form of stars that can be traded in clothes and furniture for the habiit and the habiit's house. This makes it more motivating to master routines and tasks during the week. In the subject of psychology, there is talk of operant conditioning. This means that behavior is determined on the basis of the consequences it has had at an earlier stage. Easily said; if you do an action and get a nice feedback on the action, then there is a good chance that you continue to perform that specific action. In Habiit, the player receives positive feedback and rewards when they master everyday routines. This serves as an encouragement to continue to do these actions, so that it can eventually create a new and lasting positive change in behavior.
Reflection
Habiit has a mapping function. Here the child gets the opportunity to express what they think about what happens before and at school. Here, the child's experience of various subjects and routines is mapped, but also situations that are typical of everyday school life; such as reading aloud, playing in the free time and rehearsals. The purpose of this is to help the child sort out their thoughts, and reflect on what emotions can be linked to different situations. Each week, the child can go back and sort the cards, and feel if anything has changed since the last time. We have included this feature because we see that it can be important to give the child an opportunity to reflect on their own feelings related to different situations, to make it easier to get an overview of what is difficult, and not least; that which is pleasurable, fun and good. Habiit also has a log. Thoughts and assessments that the child has given throughout the week are gathered here. The log makes it possible for the child to get an overview of how thoughts, feelings and coping have changed over time.