HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It’s that time again. It’s time to decide what new things we will promise ourselves that we will do, it’s time to promise that we will give up the old things that aren’t good for us. What will your promises be?

We each have some bad habit that we need to get rid of in our lives. The thought of it leaving our lives is probably scary. Perhaps some of you are giving up smoking, or maybe giving up eating more chocolate than a factory can produce in a day. Maybe walking more will be your goal. Ah, the word goal.

Perhaps if we took this New Year’s resolution idea and reworded the idea we would succeed in the positive and not look at it in a negative light. For example, a goal could be to walk one half mile a day to start and work up to three miles a day within a year. Wording it that way would be far better than worrying and promising yourself you are going to get up and do exercise.
Perhaps your son has questioned you about your New Year’s resolution. What would you say to him? Children of all ages are extremely susceptible to how you word your responses. Always try to make it in to a positive statement. Whether you are talking about resolutions or any other conversation, using a positive language will eventually be engrained into his mind to look at things more positively. With that being said, how about using the term “goal” instead of what we are going to give up, or, make ourselves do.

It is interesting, and sometimes baffling, how we try to reach our children to explain goals. I heard constant wishes of playing in the NFL and the NBA when one of my sons were growing up and setting goals. Trying to explain to him at a young age that all of his sports heroes have all gone to college, so let’s focus on that first, was not an easy thing to do. And I am sure I have broken his heart when I was being a realist and explained that the odds are huge for a person to end up in the NFL or the NBA. In retrospect, I should have never done that. I should have encouraged, helped, and discussed short term and long term goals with him. I fear, as a mother, I might have dampened his spirit at that point. At 27 he is fine now, but I know that I did the wrong thing at that point.

Goal setting is important. There are long term goals and short term goals. Short term goals must be attainable and long term goals can be dreams. If your son is in school, an increase in a grade for the next grading period would be a great short term goal. Perhaps, if your son is spending a little too much time on the computer or his game system, his short term goal could be promising himself to spend more time outside and playing or walking. An older son could be working towards finding a career change if he is unhappy. He could also choose a goal of being more helpful around the house or to others. A great short term goal is volunteering for some sort of agency or group. It is a commitment, a goal, and a responsibility showing character and learning social skills. This is a good goal for no matter what the age of your son.
I have listed below a few sites that might be of interest to you or your son for the New Year and ideas for setting short and long term goals.

Goal Setting Kids - Parenting Resources

Goals for the School Year - Help Your Child Set Learning Goals

Go for your goals *
•I have not read these books, but I have read the sample pages. It is an offer to purchase books about goal setting for children.

Have a WONDERFUL New Year with family and friends! Remember to smile at the simplest of things.