Are you the New Year’s resolution type, the planner, the dreamer? When the clock strikes midnight, there’s a fresh year awaiting. Ready or not, the new year is upon us!
Maybe you prepare for weeks beforehand. Maybe you lean into spontaneity. Either way, our thoughts turn to resolutions in the new year. And they’re not just for parents! We can engage our children in planning and dreaming ahead too.
Involving children in New Year’s resolutions
Why should we involve our children in the talk of New Year’s resolutions anyway? Well, for one, resolutions can easily turn into habits. And good ones, at that. When we involve our kids in talks of the future, we are modeling things we’d also like to try to accomplish. We’re practicing goal setting alongside them.
We can model how to set goals and how to go after them in the days and weeks that follow. This is an important skill for children as they get older. It can also carry into academic and personal goal setting. Goal setting teaches perseverance. It is a learned skill. This practice can begin with hopes and dreams—whether they’re attainable or just wishful thinking. Making New Year’s resolutions can look a lot like goal setting!
Involving our children in setting goals can turn into a tradition. It can not only allow for some quality and meaningful time together but can create memories year after year.
Involving our children in making New Year’s resolutions can cultivate healthy habits. Most adult resolutions tend to focus on our mental or physical goals, but we can also practice creating healthy habits alongside our children. We can focus on attainable, low-stress healthy habits kids can actually accomplish. These things might include eating more variety, leveling up in schoolwork, working toward a new skill or taking more walks outside.
New Year’s resolutions to make with kids
An easy way to make New Year’s resolutions with kids is to focus on two categories: how we treat ourselves and how we treat others. This allows children to look both internally, gaining self-awareness, and externally, developing compassion for others.
By focusing on habits involving how we take care of ourselves, we hone in on things like thoughts, attitudes and our bodies. This helps children understand that taking care of themselves is a good habit to have. In this practice, we also can demonstrate the importance of focusing on one goal at a time.
Resolutions for kids when it comes to themselves may include:
- Take more walks.
- Practice gratitude.
- Stretch or move your body more.
- Focus on schoolwork or other specific academic goals.
- Wash hands more, brush teeth better or improve other hygiene habits.
- Get rid of a habit that may not be good for your body (nail biting, thumb sucking, etc).
Another category we may focus on for children and resolutions might be how they treat others. For this topic, we help children focus on how they interact with friends, family, adults, parents, teachers and more. These resolutions might include ways to practice respect or help those around them.
Resolutions for kids when it comes to others may include:
- Pick up trash in our neighborhood.
- Practice manners.
- Help around the house more.
- Care for or mentor a sibling.
- Take care of pets.
- Help out in the community or volunteer.
Focus on the why
It’s good for our children to see us strive toward goals, but we must first know our why. Why are we making these resolutions? What is the driving force behind them? We want to talk through this with our children. Find out their why too! If something is right for us, we want to move toward it confidently.
One goal at a time
It’s easy to get ahead of ourselves making plans and goals. Focus on one thing or goal at a time. This is a lesson most children need to learn. Some adults, too! This will help your children not feel overwhelmed when making New Year’s resolutions.
Plan
Making resolutions involves a bit of planning. As with goal setting, this is important to model and teach to children. Make a plan. Try not to set spontaneous or haphazard goals. You want to commit to a goal or plan and then demonstrate that to your children.
Communication
Communication is important. Children may not understand all aspects of resolutions or your goals. Answer their questions patiently. Explain what’s happening and remind them why you are setting these resolutions. Things take time, and it’s important to communicate this to them, as they may not immediately understand how resolutions really work.
Remember the process and have patience
Goals and resolutions do take time. It’s a process! Remind your children and yourself of this often. We can model patience. We can show our kids that reaching goals doesn’t happen overnight. Success in habits and goals happens in the future. Even though we may wish it would happen in a day or two, that’s not the case.
Adapt to changes
Adapting to changes is important for kids to see. No path to a goal is a straight line. Likely, we will struggle in some way or lack motivation at some point. That’s OK! We are an example to our children. They will be looking to us for how to act—especially when things may not turn out how we want them to. Adapt to any changes that happen along the way and talk through what’s happening.
Making resolutions with kids
Resolutions don’t have to be complicated. Focus on one thing and then figure out the steps you and your children can take to move toward it. Remember that resolutions happen over a long period of time. Have patience and remind your children why you are doing this. That may look different for everyone.
Whether you’re trying to adopt healthier habits or just improve attitudes, you can get your children involved in making—and hopefully keeping—New Year’s resolutions.