New Year, New Me. That’s the old saying, right? Every year we partake in the age-old tradition of making a New Year’s Resolution list. Some of the items we stick to, some we don’t, but the important thing is that we recognize where we should improve our lives and we try to. So why not extend this to our children? This can be a fun way to get kids to understand healthy eating habits, learn new skills, or even learn to be appreciative of our planet. Here are a few resolutions that you can possibly make with your child, as well as a FREE PDF Resolution List printable at the end of the post for your kids!
- Acts of Kindness: This one can help to set instill a sense of giving to your child, or even help break them out of their shyness. For an outgoing child you can try “I’m going to do one random act of kindness a week,” whereas for a quiet child, trying “I’m going to talk to one person at school I don’t talk to each week,” can be a great way for them to include others, help them break out of their shell, and perhaps forge a new friendship that will last a lifetime — you never know!
- Being eco-friendly: This is a resolution that we should all try to stick with and can be an entire Family-based activity. We have learned the importance of recycling before, and we even have Supercan from the ACUA stop by each year to visit the children in our school, but there are other ways to help the environment as well: use less water, turn off lights, don’t litter, and walk/ride bikes instead of driving.
- Learn new skill: Learning a new skill doesn’t have to be anything intense like learning a new instrument (although that is a wonderful thing to do!), you can have your kids learn simple skills like baking cookies, doing dishes, or learn to use a new educational app on the tablet. Make learning a new skill fun and a child will learn more — they are sponges when engaged!
- Exercise more: Instead of just saying “I am going to exercise more,” get specific — “I am going to do Yoga class with Mommy on Saturdays.” If you make the resolution very specific, you are much more likely to stick with it. This is a great tip for the grown-up Resolutions List as well!
- More family time: Along with “more exercise,” this one should be specific also: “we are going to eat breakfast together every Sunday morning,” or “We will have game night every Friday!” This resolution is easy, fun, and is oh so important, especially with our busy lives!
We hope you enjoyed this short list of resolution ideas for your children. Please download this PDF printable New Year’s Resolution list to help your children create — and stick to — some resolutions for 2019. We hope everybody has a safe, healthy, Happy New Year!