Welcome to the Simply Charlotte Mason podcast. I'm Sonia Schaefer. Today I want to address two

more habit training questions. The first one is about how to handle an outside influence

that's not supporting your efforts to cultivate a good habit. Here's the question. How would you

address a disobedient child mingling with your

kids whom you're training in the habit of obedience if the child's parents aren't very particular

with his prompt obedience? It's a tough situation that requires discernment.

No one is perfect.

Your child will see children and adults doing things that are not a good example.

That's just life.

But when that poor example is consistently before your child's eyes and heart, we need

to be careful that it doesn't become

a stumbling block to his own growth as a person. Charlotte Mason talked about being watchful

about outside influences, friends or relatives whom your child comes in contact with regularly,

who can sabotage your efforts at instilling a good

habit? Now, we can't always avoid that situation, but we can seek to be aware, to be vigilant,

and to take countermeasures as needed. Here's how Charlotte described that situation. She mentioned servants,

who were a common extension of many of the families she associated with. We can easily

substitute friends there. All right? She said, every day, every hour, the parents are either passively or actively forming those habits

in their children, upon which, more than upon anything else, future character and conduct depend.

And here comes in the consideration of outside influence.

Nine times out of ten, we begin to do a thing

because we see someone else do it. We go on doing it, and there's the habit. If it is

...