Why Not Set Family Goals for the New Year?

Most parents will cast a vision for who they want their kids to become, what values they want to instill, and what skills they want them to learn.  But not many parents connect that vision with their everyday practices.  

Honestly, how often do we do this with our own goals too?  

This is why as we start a New Year, rather than getting pulled towards creating yet another resolution, try setting a goal. Goals are more effective because specificity is built into goal setting, resolutions are TOO VAGUE.  

Why not try setting a goal for your family or as a family? (Hint: start with the end in mind).  

Our family goal will be to learn how to skateboard. More to come as the month progresses!

Setting Family Goals

Pick something you want your kids to pick up from you: a character trait, a value, or a skill. Then think about how you can set a goal NOW that would help them move toward that outcome.  I’ll give you a few examples to get the wheels turning:

1. I want my kids to develop healthy spending and saving habits. So we started an envelope system.  Every time they get money, they divide it in thirds and each third goes into a designated envelope.  Their envelopes are: SPEND NOW, SAVE FOR SOMETHING BIG, AND SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

2. I want them to value family relationships, so we meet weekly as a family to connect, share challenges, and grow together.

3. I want them to be kind, so last year for Christmas we did a Kindness Advent calendar. (Our members had one pre-made for them this year). The activity gave them daily practices to be kind to themselves and others for an entire month. 

Reverse engineering works wonders in goal setting and parenting. Start with the end in mind, and then plan backwards, creating actionable steps you can do NOW that are appropriate for their age and development level.