Looking for a fun activity to do with your little ones to start the New Year? Look no further than our updated 2024 New Year’s Resolution Printable for Kids! Have some great conversations and memorialize where your kids are today with this adorable keepsake.
Full disclosure – we’re generally not the biggest fans of resolutions. And while we make some goals for ourselves, shooting for the stars and not quite reaching them can be disappointing.
BUT, we also know our kids are so full of potential and are these amazing little people that are growing and becoming more amazing each day. (And, let’s face it, sometimes more infuriating – so maybe we do all have a little something we can work on!)
So have some NO PRESSURE fun with some 2024 goal setting for kids. You can learn more about their personal goals and how you can support them in the coming year.
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Why You Should Do New Year’s Resolutions with Kids
New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to do goal setting with your kids. Whether something big or something small, it’s fun to set goals and help your child reach them.
We often think of big goals for adults – like follow your dream and change careers! Lose weight! Read 50 books this year! But New Year’s Resolutions are a great way to set smaller goals for your child.
Work on keeping your room clean. Learn how to play an easy song on the piano. Try out for the school talent show. Nail the perfect cartwheel. It can be something long term or a one time event. There is no limit to what they can set out to achieve!
And while we may have ideas of what we think our kids want to accomplish, your kids might just surprise you with their goals! I had no idea that my daughter had any interest in getting her ears pierced until she announced it in her goals last year.
I’m happy to report that she is wearing some goofy hamburger earrings her brother bought her for Christmas! She wrote down her intentions, overcame her slight fear about the procedure, and crossed it off her list. All because we did our New Year’s Resolutions together.
Check out one of our Resolutions Here: How to Be More Productive as a Stay at Home Mom
How to Talk to Kids About Resolutions
While there’s a lot of fun that can be had with New Year’s Resolutions, there’s also a lot of opportunities for disappointment. Talk to your kids about setting attainable goals and what that means.
Don’t let them pick something that you’re pretty sure they can’t achieve. (I mean, of course, our kids are amazing and can achieve ANYTHING they put their minds to…..but if your 5 year old can barely do a summersault, maybe work on something more realistic than their goal of doing a round-off-back-handspring by summer).
Cute young girl doing cartwheel in sand at beach with blue sky and ocean in background
Encourage your child to find a goal that they think they can achieve. Then, help them plan a path to get there. Include small steps along the way for bigger goals. Just like us, kids find it very satisfying to check things off a list! The more mini accomplishments you can check off along the way, the better chances your child has of succeeding.
This is also a good time to talk to them about things they want to stop doing. Whether it’s biting their nails or teasing their little sister, there’s probably something they can work on here as well. Tell them about some bad habits you’ve kicked and strategize how they can get there too.
What to Do with Your Resolutions
Try to display your child’s New Year’s Resolutions in a public place so that you can check in on them often. Ask them if they are still working on that goal and how it’s been going.
If they’re nailing it, congratulate them on getting off to a great start or for keeping up the hard work.
If they’re stuck or frustrated, help get them re-focused. If they plain old forget, tell them it happens to the best of us and remind them that it’s never to late to work on it.
Maybe they have decided that the goal they made just doesn’t fit anymore. That’s okay too. While we generally are team “don’t quit,” we also want to teach our kids that it’s okay to change your mind.
Yes, you should stick to your commitments, but it’s also a strength to be self-aware enough to know when something just isn’t working for you. If your kid has given it their best, use this as an opportunity to talk about shifting priorities.
Be ready to share a time you’ve changed course. We tell our kids so often that they shouldn’t quit that they may be afraid to change direction. This is as important a life skill as following through on a commitment and this is a great time to have that discussion.
Celebrate Success!
Whether your child made a small goal like pour my own cereal, a big goal like learn to read or ride a bike, or a seemingly impossible goal – KEEP BEDROOM CLEAN! – they deserve to be celebrated for their accomplishments.
Make a BIG DEAL out of them reaching their goals. This will reinforce goal setting and working towards something – which are great real life skills all kids should learn.
So check their accomplishment off the list and celebrate all the work they did to get there. Go grab an ice cream and tell them how proud you are. Ask them what they want to accomplish next. Give them the confidence to know that this is just one in a lifetime of accomplishments that you can celebrate together.
Related Post: 5 Family Motto Ideas for Resilient Kid
Get Started!
Sign up to get your FREE 2024 New Year’s Resolution Printable HERE so that you can get started with your child! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Check out more of our fun FREE Printables Here: