Motherhood: Helping Kids Establish Goals For The New Year

FEATURE | Motherhood

Helping Establish Kids GOALS for the New Year

by Mary Jane Bogle Here are some best practices to follow as you help your child develop their goals:

Everyone needs a fresh start occasionally, and kids are no exception. That’s what the new year offers, after all, a blank slate full of fresh new possibilities. As parents, you can take advantage of the push for New Year’s resolutions to help your children learn about the power of setting—and achieving—their own personal goals.

Best Practice #1: Model the behavior and skills you want to see in your kids. Setting some family goals first will help your children learn the process with you. Sample family goals could include running a 5k together, tackling a new hiking trail, planning a family game night once a month, or even completing family chores by noon every Saturday.

Reasons for kids to set goals

As with most learning opportunities, the process of setting and reaching a goal is just as valuable as the achievement itself. Learning to set a realistic personal goal offers several positive benefits for your kids, including: • Understanding the value of hard work and personal investment • Experiencing a boost in self-confidence when they reach their stated outcome • Establishing self-discipline and routines • Developing responsibility and accountability • Realizing the power of a “growth mindset,” which empowers them to be part of creating the future they desire

How to help kids set goals

No one wants to set their kids up for failure, so it’s important to help your children create realistic goals—ones that are appropriate for their own personal skill and maturity levels, not to mention the family resources required to help them achieve those goals. If your child’s goal is to hike the Appalachian Trail, for instance, but you can’t take an entire summer off to accompany him or her, you might want to help that child set a more realistic goal for now. Best Practice #2: Let children take the lead. They will be more invested in the process if they choose the goals themselves. Help them think about skills they want to acquire or experiences they want to explore. Consider fears they might want to conquer or improvements they want to make in sports, school, or at home. Finances, travel, and fitness are fair game, too.

Best Practice #3: Make it measurable. A goal without a system to measure progress is just a dream. If you want your kids to be successful, keep their goal setting SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-sensitive.

GOALS

1. GOOD GRADES

2. BE A BETTER

SISTER

3. SUMMER CAMP WITH FRIENDS

Best Practice #4: Keep goals on display. Writing down goals and posting them in a public place will go a long way toward keeping those goals front and center. And remember that it’s okay to adjust the goals throughout the year.

Best Practice #5:

Celebrate the small steps toward success.

You might consider developing a chart with the specific steps your child will need to take to achieve the goal, then celebrate every achievement along the way. Every “A” earned, dollar saved, or point scored makes a difference! a photos: shutterstock.com