New Years Resolutions To Make With Your Family

New Years is a fun time. It’s a feeling of rejuvenation after the crazy holiday months, a chance to start fresh and set new goals for the upcoming year.

Many of us adults make resolutions, but have you ever included your children before?

This could be a great way to start introducing your child to setting goals, teaching positivity and encouragement by example, and a fun way for them to get excited about what they’d like to accomplish. Here are 10 new years resolutions you can make with your family.

Time flies by and life goes too quickly. Don’t have feelings of “wanting more”, take action this year. Spend as much time with your family as you can be creating memories you’ll all have for a lifetime.

In a fast moving world sometimes we don’t notice how quickly we move through our day. It seems natural to us in the moment, but take a step back and try to slow down. Instead of a quick wave or peck on the cheek before you run out the door, try to take an extra minute to give your loved one a hug. Say goodbye, wish them a happy day, and make eye contact.

The work week is busy and kids have a jam packed schedule, but it’s important to spend quality time as a family. Pick a day during the week to do something has a family. Maybe it’s having a family movie or game night. Making a favorite bedtime snack or simply reading a story together.

In the winter months it’s hard to get out into the cold. However, even for just 5 minutes a day, make it a point to get out with your little ones. It’ll help wake them up and feel a burst of energy and get some fresh air. When the weather warms up try to stick to a routine. Choose at least one day you know for sure you can spend outside. Play a game, ride a bike, or go on a walk.

This is probably one of the most popular for families when it comes to new year resolutions. Eating healthy can be a family effort. It’s been reported that the more kids are involved in cooking, the more likely they are to make healthy choices. Not only is it a great way to get some healthy foods in front of the kids but it’s a great family activity that even the littlest ones can be involved in.

Exercise different parts of your brain. Try to be a bit more creative and encourage your kids to try new things, experience art, make a craft, use their hands and make something they can call their own.

We recently posted an article about how some of your kids favorite snacks might actually have harmful ingredients. Although you might not that the time (or energy) to make everything your kids eat from scratch, maybe choose one thing that you can make yourself. Instead of buying muffins from the store, you could try making your own.

An easy way to sneak veggies into your kids diet is to shred them into some home made recipes like meatloaf, muffins, breads, and pancakes. This could be a great way for you to make some of their snacks a bit healthier.

Get the whole family on board for chores. Create a chart and make it fun. Allowance doesn’t always need to be money, you can treat your kids to ice cream, a new book, or take out of their choice when they complete their chores. This will also (hopefully) eliminate some stress on mom and dad for always having to clean up the house, and a good intro to responsibilities for the kiddos.

It’s easy for the day to slip by and realize the T.V. has been on in the background all day. Weather the kids are watching for long periods of time or not, it’s can be a good idea to try and limit the T.V. That way when your child notice’s it’s not on, they’ll know to ask and you can better track how much T.V. they’re watching. Instead of T.V. suggest other activities like coloring, doing a puzzle, or helping out with those chores.

It’s important that families communicate together especially with their children. Families who communicate often have open lines of communication with their children which will lead to long term benefits when their child grows into a teenager. Spending casual time together can create a strong family dynamic, a sense to unity and problem solving skills.

If you’re child is in grade school or older, you can encourage them to create their own new year resolution chart. It’s a great project to get them excited about achieving their own goals. Each week you can mark down what they accomplished and encourage them to keep working towards the future.

New Years is a fun time for people to start planning ahead for the upcoming year. It’s a great way to include your kids in family decisions and goals. Family time is important and taking these small steps could help improve your bonding time as a whole.