Experts say there are numerous benefits available to kids that write New Year’s Resolutions. So, while considering resolutions for yourself, use these five tips to help your children set some goals of their own!
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Why would you even worry about children setting goals? Well, according to research and experts there are a wide variety of benefits to even setting a goal, not to mention achieving a goal. Some benefits include bonding between parent and child, a feeling of being in control of their future, being able to break down tasks, developing resourcefulness, and much more!*
With so much to gain from setting goals, let’s dive into five ways you can help your kids set one or two of their own New Year’s Resolutions.
1- Make it a Fun Family Activity
First, set a time to make goals together and plan for a party! Goal setting doesn’t need to be boring, it should be very exciting and fun! Have snacks or treats to eat while you plan, fill a jar with goal ideas you could set, break up the monotony with a book on goals, or even play a game.
The key is to keep it short and sweet. The younger your children are, the shorter you should keep the activity. Even with fun treats and additions, the topic shouldn’t be elaborated or overly explored. Briefly explain why you are setting goals, go over some examples, share your own goals (more info to come!), help them set one or two goals, and finish with a plan to follow-up.
2- Remember to think SMART
Goals are most likely to succeed if they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. To keep a goal specific narrow down something like, “I will be cleaner” to “I will clean my room every week”. The second version now meets the other criteria as well. It is measurable (cleaning once a week), it is achievable and realistic. To make it time-bound consider setting a specific day that the room will be cleaned.
In addition to SMART goals, thinking of small steps that will help you achieve a larger goal. If we stick with our previous example, the small steps to cleaning a room once a week could be making your bed each morning, throwing away trash instead of sticking it under the bed, and putting toys away when finished playing. With these small steps the goal feels very realistic and soon your child will develop cleaner habits overall!
3- Giving Suggestions
Your kids are most likely going to need some direction, guidance, and suggestions on what goals they could set, especially if they have never set a goal before. Here are a few things to remember:
- Make suggestions, not ultimatums. You want your children to come up with the goals that would be best for them. Try to encourage them to think of ideas on their own as much as possible.
- Provide parameters, not limits. Give your children some areas they could make goals in such as physical, social, emotional, or intellectual health. But, don’t limit your children to any one area you feel they need to work on.
- Speak positively, not negatively. The language you use should emphasize a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. You don’t want your children to feel like they are bad or need to change, but rather that they can get even better!
For example: “Would you like to set a goal to eat more healthy food?” rather than “You have gained a lot of weight this year, I think you should set a goal to lose 10 lbs”.
4- Be an Example
A great way to encourage your children to set New Year’s Resolutions is to share resolutions you have made in the past with them. But, you don’t need to sugar coat it or focus only on the resolutions you consider successes. We have all had resolution flops; when we completely forgot after a few weeks, or set a completely unrealistic goal. Sharing the good and the bad will help your children accept and learn from their own failures.
If you have ever set and achieved a particularly inspiring goal, be sure and share it with your kids! Help them to see the power of setting their own goals, and what worked for you in your success. The more often you set goals as a family, and share your own goals with your kids, the easier the process will become; a magical family tradition in the making!
5- Set a Time to Follow-Up
Now that you have your goals set and plan made to achieve them, set a time to check-in as a family to see how every one’s goals are going. Schedule it on your calendar, phone, or whatever works best for you, but get it written down so you make sure it happens. Make it something to look forward to with some fun prizes for those that have made progress or achieved some baby steps towards their goal.
Looking for additional accountability? Follow us on Instagram and Facebook as we share our own resolutions and encourage you to share your goals and how they are going. You can also join our community of parents and teachers where we support and encourage each other in this amazing and overwhelming role of teaching children.
