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How many of us make new year resolutions we don’t ever keep? Well, I guess that’s because we never viewed them as being part of our training and discipline!
Goal-setting is a crucial component of a student’s growth as it teaches him/her a lifelong skill - responsibility. Through this exercise, students learn how to make commitments and more importantly, figure out how to keep those promises.
Setting a New Year’s resolution is a great example of accomplishing a substantial goal, and it’s a good habit to develop at a young age. Making a New Year’s resolution can help you focus on big and small goals while also laying the groundwork for a fresh start.
As adults, most of us we tend to consider New Year’s resolutions as individual ambitions, and the most common ones that come to mind are goals related to one’s career, fitness and social circles.
“No more daily coke and weekly French fries for me! An apple a day will surely keep the doctor away….”
“I’m going to lose 15kg and become svelte again!”
“I am going to stop work, stay at home and help my kid to score AL4 for the PSLE…”
“Fitness is my middle name. I’m definitely going to hit the gym daily now!”
Perhaps, at this juncture, we may wish to re-evaluate how we approach resolutions, especially those relating to our children. Trust me (I implore you!) - resolution-making is a wondrous opportunity for us to model our goal-setting experiences for our kids, as well as practise and ingrain these key skills together.
It’s a smart option for parents to think about resolutions for the New Year in several diverse ways:
A fabulous way of discovering what your child wants to do, and his/her aspirations for the new year
Moulding a particular behaviour to become a habit for your child.
Unique ways for collaborating as a family
You may ask - Should I, as a parent, encourage my children to make New Year’s resolutions as a family or individually?
Well, the answer (drumroll please) is both! The key here is to ensure that these are at everyone understands how he/she can work towards accomplishing those goals. They must be passionate about these goals and want to achieve them themselves, without much plodding or pestering. They must also have some degree of autonomy in choosing the commitment or resolution. As a general rule, our resolutions should also be positive in nature. That way, we can emphasize what we should be doing, instead of what we should avoid.
For this new year, here are some family-friendly resolutions for kids which provide joy and happiness while also motivating everyone in the family to pursue a good lifestyle!
1. Stuff them away and get unplugged!
When exactly was the last time you and your child went a day without checking emails, watching Squid Games (or some other tantalisingly addictive series) on Netflix, or being hooked to your mobile phones?
Set an objective to go without your nifty internet-friendly gadgets, cyberspace connections or your metaverse playthings for one day a week. Use that day off to enjoy the outdoors or slug it out mentally over the chessboard or game of go.
2. ‘A’ attitude for Academics
“I am going to turn half my C’s into B’s this year.”
“I will be diligent and put my best foot forward. Should I fail in my endeavour, at least I can say that I have tried my best!”
“Never am I going to burn the midnight oil again this year. I have learnt my lesson from last year. After all, a burnt child fears the fire.”
These could be simple resolutions that are reasonably attainable, and also help your child towards improving (or maintaining, as the case may be) his/her academic performance.
3. Focus as a Family
One obvious consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic is that children who were (and still are) learning remotely, generally have had fewer opportunities for physical activity.
If every family member is stuck in the house, start a balanced physical schedule. Try yoga, fun dance practice (Bollywood, Hip-hop etc) or draw up a list of YouTube workout routines for kids to do.
Who said watching TV or Youtube clips are only for the sluggish couch potatoes?. Show the world that your New Year’s resolution is to be healthier and more active, and accomplish them together with your family members.
4. Become a bookworm!
Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. Once you learn to read, you will be forever free – great pearls of wisdom indeed!
Reading should be one of the topmost new year’s resolutions for kids, not just this year, but for each and every year! How many books do you and your children have on their bookshelves that you haven’t read? And when was the last time you decided to visit your local library?
You should all become bookworms this year if you plan together! Find appropriate reading for kids of various ages, and encourage them to review and describe the book using only a reading chart or book notebook. Discuss what they have read with them at least once a week on weekends.
Reading is a key skill and enables one to acquire so much knowledge, build one’s vocabulary, and develop good writing traits.
In a mind-stretching nutshell,
The idea of resolutions is that they empower people to accept change in a better way. Though many people struggle to stick to their New Year's resolutions, your kid should not be one of them. Hope our list of kid-friendly new year’s resolutions for 2022 will help you out! Have a great year!
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