New year’s resolutions for kids
How to reimagine goals and transform your family
Whether you love or hate new year’s resolutions, it’s tempting to think how a goal you set early in the year might transform who you are or what you can do by the end of it. Many adults think of resolutions mostly as impossible goals that are quickly forgotten, so should you even set any for your kids?
One way to approach the topic is to reimagine new year’s resolutions as the vehicle for goals you and your kids want to work on. What is something they genuinely want to improve or accomplish? Can you make this a fun goal they can be excited about working toward?
How to set new year’s resolutions for kids
The bottom line is that the resolution needs to be clearly defined, challenging enough, and that you set up attainable, smaller milestones and check-ins along the way.
When it comes to kids’ own new year’s resolutions, the most important thing is that both the wish to make one and the specific goal come from the kids themselves. This means that your child needs to be old enough to understand the concept of self-development and goals in order for a new year’s resolution to be relevant. It also means your best bet is to let them think of their own ideas and goals on their own first, before stepping in to help them figure out how to make it happen.
Once your child has ideas about what to aim for in the new year, you as a parent can help by making the goal feasible and realistic. A helpful way to structure any goal, including new year’s resolutions, for your kids, is to use the following directives:
Make sure the new year’s goal is:
Specific: Be clear on the goal. Instead of framing it as, “I will be better at school,” decide what that means. Maybe, “I will finish the day’s homework before dinner each day,” or “I will spend 20 minutes 3 days a week on my reading.”
Measurable: Make it quantifiable so you can actually check in on how things are going together. Then make a plan on how you will track progress through the year.
Achievable: As adults, many of us have fallen victim to the trap of unattainable goals. Support your child by helping them set a goal that is a challenge, but realistic.
Relevant: Your child will only work toward a goal if they understand how it will bring them a win. The goal should be something they want and care about, and they need to see the correlation between the work and the outcome.
Time Bound: Intermittent deadlines and check-points help keep focus and structure.
The bottom line is that the resolution needs to be clearly defined, challenging enough, and that you set up attainable, smaller milestones and check-ins along the way. Don’t forget to set up rewards along the way and maybe plan a big celebration near the end of the year to see how far you’ve come. Especially younger kids will need plenty of evenly spaced, tangible rewards to stay motivated - a sticker chart can be great for this.
Make new year’s resolutions as a family
Try to make new year’s resolutions a family activity, both when you set them up and when you check in on your progress throughout the year. You are your kid’s best role model, and as with so many things, they are more inclined to do as you do in regards to new year’s resolutions than as you say.
Making new year’s resolutions together can strengthen your relationship as a family. By involving your kids in making family goals or new year’s resolutions, you have automatically structured an intention to check in with each other through the year and see how your work is going. Your kids will feel bolstered by your vested interest in their progress and their hard work - and it might hold you accountable as well!
Can your goals serve your core values?
Here at Smart Sitting, we often refer back to our core values as a company and whether our actions are serving those values. As a parent, you may have spoken or unspoken core values that you want to instill in your child as well. New year’s resolutions are a great way to blend your kid’s hopes and ambitions with developing a character that aligns with your values. In this way, you can reimagine new year’s resolutions from a lofty, guilt-ridden ideal you will drop by February, into a useful tool to build a stronger, happier family.
Have you made new year’s resolutions in your family before? What worked for you? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a line on Facebook or Instagram and let us know.