In childhood, willful and emotional habits exert significantly different influences on mental, intellectual, and social development.

Willpower Versus Emotion: The Role of Habits in Child Development

In childhood, willful and emotional habits exert significantly different influences on mental, intellectual, and social development. On one hand, habits formed through willful activity play a positive role in the child's mental development. When a habit is established through conscious, focused effort, the intellectual energy previously expended on willfully regulating movements is freed and can be redirected toward more creative and higher spiritual work. This contributes to faster and more economical mental development, as many actions become mechanized and no longer require constant conscious control.

As noted in one source: "How can such a difference in the influence of habits be explained?

Because the emergence of a habit weakens and displaces the participation of consciousness in movement—thus creating mechanization and automation of activity. When a habit develops from willful activity, the intellectual energy that was necessary for the willful regulation of movements becomes free and is directed toward higher spiritual work. The more 'willful' habits we have, the more actions we perform without the participation of consciousness, and the more energy remains available for higher spiritual work. In this sense, the development of habits has the most favorable influence on our mental maturation. In light of this, the enormous significance of habits in the psychology of childhood becomes clear; the more successful and valuable habits a child has, the easier, more economical, and faster their mental development proceeds." (source: link txt, page: 275)

On the other hand, emotional habits can have a negative impact, especially if they become the dominant type of behavior. When a child develops stable emotional settings, their ability to experience vivid and rich sensations gradually diminishes. This leads to emotions beginning to fade, and the creative energy inherent in the emotional sphere weakens. This process can be observed not only at the level of mental development but also in intellectual and social interactions. The instructional material states:

"But besides the very valuable influence of habits on mental development, they can also have a negative impact. I am referring not only to bad 'willful' habits but especially to 'emotional' habits, the customary emotional 'settings'. In this case, the emotion itself fades, becoming mentally powerless—as if it withers, erodes, and loses its creative force. The development of habits in these two directions proceeds differently, as does the impact of the habits that arise on mental life." (source: link txt, page: 275)

Furthermore, the negative influence of emotional habits is also reflected in social development. Emotional responsiveness is considered a fundamental condition for full social communication. If a child forms stable emotional settings, their ability for empathy and active social interaction decreases, leading to reduced social participation and initiative. This is illustrated by the following passage:

"The development of 'emotional' habits delays the development of feelings and pushes them deep into the soul. Not only does the emotion weaken, but along with it, the inherent creative power also diminishes; the emergence of habits in emotional life is dangerous for creative freshness, for creative life. When this topic is addressed, it is developed predominantly in the psychology of adult creativity, especially in the psychology of artistic creativity—but this issue is no less, and perhaps even more, significant in the history of a child's mental maturation. And the child, accumulating 'emotional' habits—although, fortunately, this process in a child is very complex and protracted—loses its creative force: the forms of expressive movements become mechanized, and with the formation of habits, the source of creative energy becomes clouded and even exhausted—transforming the child from a lively, active, and gifted individual into one who is passive, incapable, and apathetic." (source: link txt, page: 276)

It is also important to note that full social development requires not only developed willful qualities and intellect but, above all, lively, free social feelings that help overcome social inertia. If emotional habits dominate, a child may lose initiative and interest in social interaction, as confirmed by the following observation:

"Signs of the erosion of self-awareness and will can be attributed to reduced initiative, diminished interest in the fullness of situations, and a lack of motivation for active social practice. If a child experiences a deficit of positive emotional impacts from the environment, uncertainty and apathy develop, which affect the reduction of intense energy and the rapid, thoughtful maturation process. However, careful attention to social and emotional habits can change this situation." (source: path_to_file, page: 275)

Thus, it can be concluded that during childhood, the formation of willful habits contributes to the optimal use of mental and intellectual energy by automating routine actions, thereby allowing concentration on more creative and higher developmental tasks. In contrast, the predominance of emotional habits can lead to the suppression of feelings, a decrease in creative potential, and deteriorated social interaction, which ultimately negatively affects the overall mental maturation of the child.