TEACHING JOHNNY HOW TO:
Make & Keep New Year's Resolutions
I
t’s a new year and a chance for
new beginnings. Making New
Year’s resolutions is a great self-im-
provement tool for almost any age,
though it’s most ideal for kids between
the ages of seven and twelve. Children
at this age are old enough to under-
stand the concept of making New Year’s
resolutions but still young enough that
they aren’t set in their ways. The trouble
with New Year’s resolutions is that even
adults struggle to keep them most of the
time; and if it’s hard for adults, then it’s
especially challenging for kids. Thank-
fully, there are ways of helping kids
develop positive and successful New
Year’s resolution experiences. for kids to forget. Children are more
likely to succeed if their resolutions
are very specifi c, like keeping their
room clean every day. Breaking their
resolution down into smaller baby steps
will help set them up for success. For
instance, if their goal is to keep their
room clean you could write down a few
steps for them to practice each week,
like putting toys away the fi rst week,
putting their clothes in the hamper the
second week, etc. This way your kids
will know exactly what they need to do
to keep their goal. with how hard it is and ask them what’s
getting in the way.
Making resolutions visible and
accessible, such as posting up a chart
that tracks their weekly progress, can
help remind your kids about their goals
without you having to nag them, and
it can help them stay excited about
their resolutions. You can also share
how you’re doing with your own
resolutions. Sharing your own struggles
and the ideas you came up with to fix
them can encourage your kids to do
the same.
Let Kids Make Their
Own Resolutions Make it a Tradition
Lead by Example You may feel the urge to push your kids
towards a resolution that you think
they should work on, but it’s important
to help your kids make their own
decisions, not make them for them. In
order for a resolution to work, kids have
to want to make that change. When
they’re allowed to choose a New Year’s
resolution that’s genuinely important to
them, then they are more likely to fol-
low through. This also helps them learn
to take ownership of their goals and
know how to plan. You can help your
kids fi gure out their goals by suggest-
ing general categories for change and
making sure their resolutions are age
appropriate, but otherwise their resolu-
tions should be entirely their own.
86
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
WINTER 2020
Tian, C, “Helping Your Child Make and Keep
New Year’s Resolutions”, Firstcry Parenting,
parenting.fi rstcry.com/articles/helping-your-child-
make-keep-new-years-resolutions/
855 Moro Drive
Gilroy • gokids.org
gmhtoday.com
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Article Brought
To You By:
When making New Year’s resolutions,
try to avoid broad goals such as, “I will
behave better.” Resolutions like these
are too vague, which makes them easier
Any kind of self-improvement, no
matter how small, takes time. There are
bound to be setbacks along the way.
In fact, they should be expected. If
you nag your child about their set-
backs it makes them feel like they’re
failing, which makes them less likely
to continue. Instead of focusing on
the failures, let them go and help your
children find ways to achieve their
goals. If they’re struggling, empathize
Make Realistic Goals
Don’t Nag and
Forget the Failures
Schuman, Wendy, “8 Ways to Help Kids Make
New Year’s Resolutions”, Parents.com, parents.
com/holiday/new-years/resolution/8-ways-to-
help-kids-make-new-years-resolutions/
Goals are more likely to be kept if
they’re benefi cial for both parents and
children. If you sit down and make your
New Year’s resolutions together, your
children will view their resolutions as a
family activity instead of another house
rule being imposed on them. Coming
up with common and realistic goals as a
family also helps you get to know each
other’s aspirations and interests.
Sources:
Make it a Family Effort
Children learn how to behave from
their parents fi rst and foremost. If you
want them to work on their resolutions,
they need to see that you are too. Set
an example for your kids by making a
specifi c and concrete resolution your-
self, such as you want to be out the door
by a certain time each morning. If your
kids see you consistently ready to leave
at your preferred time, they’ll be more
motivated to follow through on their
own resolutions.
Families tend to lead more isolated
lives these days. Getting together to
make New Year’s resolutions can be a
fun family tradition that not only gives
the new year more meaning, but brings
the family closer together. Make it a
cherished event by cooking up a special
treat specifi cally for resolution time,
or have them pick a gift or charm that
“predicts” their adventure for the new
year and have other family members
guess what it might be. However you
choose to embark on your New Year’s
resolution journey, it will be more fun
when you do it together.
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