The quest of making this coming new year your best year yet will almost begin now that 2023 is right around the corner. So if you want to start the year with a bang, I suggest you get on board with New Year's resolutions craze.
But making resolutions is not solely an adult-centric affair. Even children can take part in this wonderful activity. Supporting your kid in their goal-setting can encourage them to learn new things, expand their horizon, and shape their very future.
The previous article explained how you could teach kids to make their own resolutions. But what sorts of resolutions should they list down?
Here is a list of awesome New Year's resolutions for kids that you can suggest they put on their list!
SMART Goals for New Year's Resolution
The pitfall of most New Year's resolutions is the lack of specificity. It's more difficult and confusing to follow "I'll study more diligently" as opposed to "I'll work on my homework immediately after I get home from school."
Making your resolutions clear-cut narrows down your focus, helping you know what steps to take and when — in service of your goal. This is where SMART goals swoop in (which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound). We thoroughly discussed this in our tutorial on teaching kids how to make their New Year's resolutions.
Children share the same sentiment. They love routines so much because it eliminates all confusion surrounding a task. They can easily follow through when all the steps are cut out for them.
All the resolutions we've listed here are down to a T. Feel free to recommend them to your child if you wish or create some variations that specifically apply to their setting.
New Year's Resolution Ideas for Kids
Weekly Chores
You might not realize it, but kids want to help out at home. Despite the stereotype that children are lazy, it's an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction when they feel helpful.
Integrating weekly chores into their schedule are some of the New Year's resolution ideas for kids you may implement. But not all tasks are applicable, let alone safe! So try to determine which chores are appropriate for your child's ages to be sure.
Here are some chore-related resolutions for the kids this New Year:
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I will wake up at 7 a.m. every weekday and 8 a.m. sharp during the weekends, whether there's school or not.
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When my alarm goes off in the morning, I will immediately stand up, fold my sheets, and make my bed before I have breakfast.
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I will clean up all my toys at the end of the day before bed.
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I will brush my teeth twice every day. Once in the morning, and another before bedtime.
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I will wash my hands every time I use the bathroom and before eating meals.
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I will limit my daily screen exposure to the recommended screen time for my age.
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I will participate in our family's general cleaning sessions once a month.
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I will put my clothes in the hamper when I'm finished using them.
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I will wipe the surface whenever I spill something on it.
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I will try all the food served on my plate, even if it's only a single bite.
The interesting thing about implementing chores to kids is that there are limitless options to choose from. But I highly recommend that you select around 3-5 assignments (depending on how difficult they are) and ease kids up to doing them.
You can show them how to do the chore first. Next, have your child help out. Then, after some time, let them do it independently while you supervise. Finally, you can rest assured that kids can do it by themselves.
School Performance
I think you'd agree when I say there is nothing more important for kids to devote their focus on other than school. Performing well in school can influence their college and even their career paths. For this reason, your kid's resolutions should really instill some good study habits!
The goal here is to build your young learners early to have full mastery over their learning styles, interests, and chosen fields. Check out my suggestion for my children's school-related New Year's resolutions!
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I will do a quick recap of all my lessons every time I arrive home from school.
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I will work on my homework immediately after getting back home (the point of this is so they can have more time to play afterward).
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I will only seek my parents' help on my homework if I still don't understand after reading the directions and the problem twice (independent learning is a trait that all kids must have, they need to learn how to find ways or solutions on their own).
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I will pay my undivided attention to my teacher during classes and talk less with my classmates.
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I will spend more time playing with educational STEM toys than other toys.
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I will dedicate more time to watching educational TV shows or science movies for kids.
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Before going to school, I will check my bag to see if I got everything I need.
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I will use the Pomodoro technique when reviewing my notes every time I'm preparing for an exam (Pomodoro technique means spending 25 minutes of undivided attention on a task followed by a 5-minute break)
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I will read a book for 15 minutes daily until I finish it.
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I will participate whenever there are recitation sessions in class (at least once daily)
These educational New Year's resolutions aim to instill good study habits for kids. But some children might perform more inferior in class than others.
So please don't be too hard on your kid when it comes to school. Once they let their curiosity take the wheel and develop their knack for learning, you'd be surprised at how dedicated they can be!
For my children, STEM toys did the trick. A single peek at a kids microscope and their insatiable interest in microscopy blew my mind!
Fitness & Health
Your child's health matters just as much as school and chores. Your child's best year is only as effective as their health allows them to be.
Invest in giving them good nutrition and condition their minds to pursue healthy food options and exercise through their New Year's resolution!
Here are some I suggest to my kids:
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I will eat at least one fruit and one veggie every day. (We can give you tips on how to get kids to eat veggies if you click the link).
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I will spend 30 to 60 minutes in physical activity (whether in play or sports).
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I will limit my junk food consumption to only once every week.
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I will drink two glasses of milk every day instead of drinking juice or soda.
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I will drink a total of eight glasses of water daily.
Friends & Relationships
Children must improve themselves but also work on their relationships with other people. But given others' lives are not within their control, they can still learn to reach out and do their part for the sake of the relationship.
My recommendations to my kids include both friends and family. Here they are:
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I will no longer pick on my classmates and my siblings.
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Every week, I will talk to a classmate I barely talk to until I'm friends with all of them.
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I will not talk back to my parents but listen to what they say and express my thoughts respectfully afterward.
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I will always join our family bonding times to strengthen our family connections.
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I will speak openly to my family about my feelings (of course, lend your ear and a shoulder to cry on to your kid!)
There are many New Year's resolutions you could suggest to your child. Just make sure to tailor-fit them to their needs.
FAQs on New Year's Resolution
What are the components of a New Year's resolution?
SMART elements (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) must always comprise a New Year's resolution. What pushes us to pursue our goals is the feeling of satisfaction that comes after achieving them. That's why goals must be attainable so we won't be chasing endlessly and time-bound so we know the start and end of each resolution.
How to stay committed to making the New Year's resolutions?
Accountability partners are essential to help you stay committed to following the resolutions. Your accountability can be family members or friends (or all of them!). What matters is that there are people who remind, guide, and support you as you fulfill your New Year's resolution commitments. But, of course, it also falls on you to remind them if they are the ones that stagger in fulfilling their own resolutions.
Should New Year's resolutions be as a family or as individuals?
Both! Resolutions are everyone's affair, and if you're looking to achieve something personal that you don't wish to disclose, then that's perfectly fine. What makes having New Year's resolution as a family is that it can be a sort of bonding opportunity. You get a support system and accountability partners to keep you in check.
The best of luck on your resolutions!
It's never too late to encourage your kids to make their resolutions! You can suggest tons of ideas based on what you think they need.
As they go along the process, your support is critical for them to pull through. Make sure to supervise and positively reinforce the resolutions to keep your child motivated.
If you want to help support their school performance resolutions, I have proven STEM toys to be of great help to my kids. The STEMscope pocket microscope is an excellent choice to get them started.
Visit our complete science toy collection to learn more and get your kids' school goals achieved in no time!