In the following question, the sentence is given with a blank to be filled in with an appropriate word. Select the correct alternative out of the four: Children need to be taught the importance of hygiene early on so that it becomes a _____.

Introduction / Context:
This fill in the blank question comes from a short passage about children and hygiene. The first sentence highlights the need to teach children about hygiene early, so that good behaviour becomes automatic. The aim is to select a word that naturally completes the idea that hygiene should become part of a child's routine behaviour.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence fragment: “Children need to be taught the importance of hygiene early on so that it becomes a _____.”
• Options: kind, habit, regular, need.
• The larger passage explains that children are vulnerable to infections and must be taught what to avoid and what measures to take.
• We assume a standard collocation of words used with become in the context of repeated behaviour.

Concept / Approach:
When we talk about behaviour that is repeated so often that it becomes automatic and routine, English commonly uses the phrase become a habit. In health education and parenting advice, one frequently reads that brushing teeth or washing hands should become a habit. The other options do not fit as naturally. Kind refers to type, regular is an adjective describing something that happens frequently, and need refers to necessity, not to repeated behaviour itself.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Read the full clause: “Children need to be taught the importance of hygiene early on so that it becomes a ______.”Think of typical phrases in health and education: good habits, healthy habits, hygiene habits.Option kind: “becomes a kind” does not make sense without an additional noun.Option regular: we would say “becomes regular” or “becomes a regular practice”, not “becomes a regular” alone.Option need: “becomes a need” suggests psychological dependence, which is not the intended idea here.Option habit: “becomes a habit” is a standard and natural expression describing automatically repeated behaviour.Therefore, “habit” is the most appropriate word.

Verification / Alternative check:
Complete the sentence with the chosen answer: “Children need to be taught the importance of hygiene early on so that it becomes a habit.” This matches common advice given by doctors, teachers, and parents. It clearly expresses that the goal is to make hygienic behaviour something children do regularly without being reminded every time.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
“Kind” needs a noun after it, such as “a kind of routine”, but no such noun is provided. “Regular” by itself functions as an adjective, not the head noun in the phrase after a. “Need” could work grammatically but shifts the meaning toward emotional or psychological dependence, rather than repeated behaviour. Hence, they do not convey the intended idea as precisely as “habit”.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes pick a grammatically possible word that vaguely fits the context, such as need, without considering common collocations. Exam setters often rely on standard English phrases. Whenever you see verbs like become or develop in combination with behaviour or routine, habit is usually the right companion word if the sentence is about repeated actions.

Final Answer:
The blank should be filled with habit to give the phrase “becomes a habit”.