Family New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Eve is exciting for many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons for this feeling of joy is the thought of a clean slate. A whole new and fresh year to make some changes in your life. A chance to reflect on the past year, and to create room for growth in the next one.
Whether you’re thinking about cutting out soda or desiring to show more patience to your family members, this is a great time to think about your goals as a whole. As 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” It’s almost like this verse was written with resolutions in mind!
Everyone should always have a personal idea of how they want to self-improve, but creating some family resolutions are an excellent way to connect with your loved ones and strengthen the bonds between you. Our private school has the inspiration you need to get started. Try out these family resolutions to ring in the new year in a positive, loving, and optimistic manner.
Choose kindness.
Let’s face it — the things that family members say to each other (siblings, we’re looking at you) are not always the kindest. Part of this just comes from being so close with one another. Since family is blood and they’re not going anywhere, it’s easier to say the first thing on each other’s minds from time to time.
But this can lead to hurt feelings and way too much conflict management/damage control. It’s also not living out God’s message. New Year’s is a great time to reflect as a family about some of the word choices that are being used, and how those can be improved.
It’s completely fine to start small. Think of one or two words or phrases in particular that you as a parent think should be eliminated from the household (and family vocabulary in general). Talk with everyone in the family about how you’re feeling, and start a dialogue on it — why is this word being used? Does it have a negative or positive implication?
In addition to thinking about words to exclude, your family can reflect on some phrases to include. Everyone could choose a day of the week to give some compliments to one person in the family, and it rotates each week for who’s in the spotlight. By making kindness transparent, talked about, and intentional, your family will absolutely feel the difference in dynamic.
Give back.
There are 8,760 hours in a year. It should be possible for everyone to give at least three of those hours to a volunteer opportunity. But when crazy schedules, school, sports, and everything else seem to make the year simply fly by, it’s difficult to add in another commitment to the agenda.
Make it easier for your family by starting out with the intention of everyone committing to a volunteer opportunity together. If you plan it at the beginning of the year, you have a better chance of having it on the calendar and making it a priority (just make sure you have reminders when the date gets close so you don’t forget, or suddenly remember when you’ve accidentally overbooked).
Jesus teaches us that giving to others and helping one another is one of the most important things we can do. Building this principle into your family helps build character, generosity, and selflessness — traits that everyone can continue to grow in.
Do less.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the number of things your family has going on. Now that everyone’s hands are in the air, let’s talk about why it’s time to do less.
From extracurriculars to sports to music lessons to dance class, there are so many things going on in your family’s life that there’s hardly a moment to just relax. It’s impossible to recharge if everyone is always busy. Our private school thinks you should make this the time of year that you commit to doing less, as impossible as it might sound.
Were there things last year you could cut out? Were there events or activities or things you agreed to be a part of, even though you didn’t want to? While obligations are sometimes unavoidable, no one should spend their precious free time (and it is precious) doing only what others are wanting. This means you can say no to some of the birthday parties, cookouts, etc. Even if your family makes a resolution of saying “no” to something just five times a year, this is five times as much recharging time as you had in the previous year.
Far too often, we think we have to be doing something. Your family should plan on having at least one weekend a month where no one’s going anywhere, and everyone’s hanging out. Rent a movie, stay in, read some books, make some homemade pizza, go for a short hike, but lay low. If doing less sounds impossible to your family, it’s a sign that you all need to do less.
Read more.
Reading is one of the most important things in a child’s development (and it’s an essential growth opportunity for adults as well). If your family is already quite the clan of bookworms, keep doing what you’re doing! But if your family has gravitated more towards screen time than reading time, it’s a good time to start thinking about a switch.
Your family can make a reading goal of how many books each person is going to read. Divide this up into quarters throughout the year (“By March, I will read _____ books”), then have a celebration every time you all meet your goals. Or, you can each make a list of books that you want to read during the year, and then have a family lunch where you chat about the books you’ve each been reading.
If you have very young children that still listen to you reading books aloud, keep doing this as well! Literacy skills are one of the most important things that a child can develop; they’re skills that impact a child in more ways than we can even imagine.
Resurrection Christian School in Loveland is a private school that thinks your family is simply incredible. You are the foundation for the students we work with, and when you can strengthen and build the connections and love with your family, everyone is impacted. Your children will be happier and more grounded, and more confident in their abilities and future. Spending time thinking about resolutions as a family is something that you won’t forget.
Interested in enrolling your child with the best private school in Northern Colorado? Resurrection Christian School offers preschool, elementary, middle, and high school to families in the Loveland area. Contact our school to schedule a tour today!