Helping Your Child Pick—and Stick—to Their New Year’s Resolutions

We will say goodbye to 2018 and be welcoming the new year in just a couple of weeks, which means it is crunch time on the New Year’s Resolution front.

While many utilize their New Year’s resolutions to help spur on weight loss and other healthy habits, they can also serve as an important learning lesson for kids.

Why Make a New Year’s Resolution?

When you take away the term “New Year’s resolution,” the basic principles behind it are setting goals and achieving those goals. This is something that all children can benefit from—and even enjoy!

Many may think having your child come up with a New Year’s resolution is a bit excessive or overambitious, but childhood can be the best time to teach new habits. Although adults may make resolutions and not stick to them throughout the year, this does not necessarily mean that children will follow suit.

Helping Your Child Succeed

One of the best ways to help your kids pick and stick to a New Year’s resolution is to encourage them to consider something fun and measurable. You should also guide them toward narrowing down the list to their top three resolutions, including only things that are realistic and achievable.

There are four areas that are ideal for establishing goals:

  • Personal goals
  • Friendship goals
  • Helping goals
  • School goals

We are the greatest example for our children, so if we serve as a good role model in the resolution department, they are likely to follow suit. Remember, it takes six weeks to create a habit!

New Year’s Resolution Ideas for Kids

There are plenty of excellent New Year’s resolution ideas for children that are fun, healthy, challenging and positive. The one area you may want to steer your child away from are material goals.

Here are some ideas that may work for your child:

  • Invite someone from school or an after-school program over twice a month
  • Spend at least one day a month, if not more, unplugged from technology
  • Help cook one healthy meal two times a month
  • Read two new books per month
  • Learn or improve a skill, such as public speaking
  • Participate in more physical activity
  • Perform a random act of kindness once a month
  • Maintain a certain letter grade average throughout the year

Goal setting and achieving those goals are just two of the many life skills children need to learn in order to lead successful lives. Drama Kids International is proud to offer drama programs for children that can help them learn other important life skills, such as leadership, public speaking and self-confidence.