Craig Stephens , age 10, of Slater, Iowa, for his question:

How can a person break a habit?

The first step is to ask: How can I break this habit? This shows you are ready to tackle the problem and the chances of success are good. Your chances become even better when you figure out why you want to break a habit and make a list of all the reasons you want to be rid of it. This helps you to see that it is not really you, but merely an unwanted attachment. It loses its attraction and becomes something unimportant that you can manage to live without.

The next steps are tricky because a habit tends to take over and repeat itself before you have a chance to check it. This calls for cunning and patience. Figure out something to do instead of your unwanted habit. Every time the habit starts to perform, gently take control and do that something else instead. This calls for patience because the old habit will try to repeat many times, usually when you're not noticing. But keep switching and above all, never get angry or discouraged with yourself. Don't even let that stubborn old habit annoy you    because you are the boss