Teaching Children to Set Goals | New Year Ideas for Kids
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Are you ready for the New Year? It is amazing to me how fast this year went by. I swear once you have children it is like you blink and the year is done. They grow and learn so much in the first years, it is nearly impossible to keep the New Year at bay. Although, if I had magical powers I would slow down the year so as not to miss a moment!
New Years Eve is a perfect time to teach your children to make goals.
definition via Wikipedia A few years ago, I stopped making resolutions. Instead started to make monthly goals. Setting goals is a great way to successfully achieve your dreams. Sometimes it takes several mini goals to reach your big resolution. Only making resolutions can be overwhelming. Goals help make them more attainable.
Setting goals is also a great way to help your child succeed in life.
Goals help to teach children to be self-sufficient, to dream big, and the feeling of accomplishment.
Goals can also teach children about failure, and the steps to take after you aren’t able to accomplish a goal.
This New Years eve, why not sit down with your children and ask them to write down the following:
(You may have to help them if they are younger by giving them suggestions.)
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The idea is to find a new place to travel, goal to accomplish, skill or sport to learn, and person/charity to help. Once they have written those 4 big goals down, help them create a plan to accomplish them.At the end of the year, pull out the list goals they set last December 31st and check out the progress. Make a BIG deal about how proud you are that they were able to accomplish said goals.
Next see what wasn’t able to be accomplished. Tell them that it is okay not to make goals, some goals are great ideas, but don’t work out as planned, and some goals may take longer than a year to accomplish. What really matters most is what steps happen next. Talk with them on any additional steps needed to accomplish the goal, or maybe they need to set that particular goal to the side. Maybe they even need to choose to discard their goal as life is always changing and it may not be relevant anymore.
Finally, set your goals for the following year!
Goals aren’t just for children! Remember to set your own, and even involve your children as you review your list at the year end. They can see even mommy and daddy don’t always make their goals happen, and can celebrate your accomplishments with you. We are our child’s best example?
So, what goals are you setting in the New Year?
Emily is a wife & mom living in Las Vegas. The owner and writer at Our Knight Life, Emily loves sharing her two adorable boys and journey through motherhood. Emily has run four half marathons to date and is always training for her next big race. She also enjoys creating healthy recipes for her family and sharing family friendly product reviews.Latest posts by Emily (Posts)
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We’ve been talking with Bunny about the New Year and the opportunity to work on her sleep habits. We’re having an issue with her getting out of bed every night. We told her January is a clean slate and the perfect time to try and improve the issue. I think she’s excited and keeps asking when January starts!
How old is Bunny again? Squishy had this issue – we solved it by telling him he would lose a lovey every time he got out of bed. One night without his precious bunny and he was SO much better!! (I tried everything prior and had a kid who would get out of bed 42 times a night… No joke.)
Baybah’s goal this year is to join a sports team to help him learn teamwork and following directions!
Squishy has a similar goal – or at least I do for him!! 😉
My goal is to play with my kids like a kid!
LOVE that!! 🙂 Going to remember that one!
My dad used to sit down with us when we were kids and make goals for the new year. He wrote them on a 3×5 card for each of us. Unfortunately, we never saw the card after that, LOL. This post was a great reminder of how important goals are for kids too. I’ll be talking with my husband tonight about this. Thanks Emily!
That was awesome of your dad! Are you good with goals and resolutions now? Hope you have a great convo with the hubs! 🙂
I love the goals instead of resolutions!! I love the idea of including the kids too!!
Thanks Toni! 🙂
I like the idea of talking about the new year with your children. I can’t believe it is almost 2012. I am going to ask my girls the questions and see what answers I get.
Yay!! 🙂 I would love to hear how they do! 🙂
Hey Local girly! Thanks for stopping by my blog. So cool to meet another Vegas mom 🙂 Now I’ll have to check you out often ! Your son is super cute too! It’s amazing isn’t it how such a tiny person can impact and change our lives in such a huge way. I know that we will never be the same and I am so thankful 🙂 Look forward to getting to know more about you and your way cool blog.
This is so great. My goal for Hayden is to get him potty trained and also to better follow directions.
What a great idea to include the kids! I had to ask my savvy ladies and see what they would say.