As parents, we all want to see our kids succeed and success looks different for everyone! Maybe you'd like your child to pick up their toys or make their beds each day, or maybe as a family, you have no screen time for the household for an hour each night. Perhaps you'd like to encourage your child to learn a new skill or get outside and play each day for a little bit longer. The New Year is a great time to put these things down on paper and make an action plan to help them successfully achieve these realistic goals.
It doesn't need to be fancy or daunting. Just sit down with a piece of paper and ask great questions like these:
If you could learn a new skill, what would it be? Sewing, drawing, or coding?
If you could learn a new sport, what would that look like? Dancing, parkour, or yoga?
If you could try anything without failing, what would that be? Cooking, rock climbing, or learning how to play piano?
What is something we could do as a family this year? Take a walk after dinner two nights a week, have a monthly family game night or send cards or drawings to family members.
We know that for goals to be achieved, they must be specific, measurable, and reasonable. Start with one personal goal and a family goal; write them down and hang the goals up somewhere where everyone can see them. It's always fun to document when milestones are completed.
For many of the goals your child sets, it will take follow-through on the adult to sign up for the class or activity. Remember to set realistic goals for yourself too and you can even add a date to your calendar that you'd like to have it done by.
Kids are more likely to participate and stay with activities that are fun and setting goals that are not only challenging but are fun, will help them stick with the new activity. Many times, they just need exposure to new types of experiences like those above. New year, new adventures.