Tonight Becky and I were really cracking down on what we wanted our New Year’s Resolutions to be.
Just like every other year it stated pretty much the same:
Becky: To “TRY” giving up Diet Coke and Ice cream.
Mickey: To run 3 days a week and go to the gym 3 days a week.
So, we thought we had it all down and we were ready for the New Year to come. At dinner, we were discussing with the kids all of big plans for what we planned on doing to make us “better for the New Year.” Our oldest, Jack, laughed and said “There is no way Mom can give up Diet Coke… and Ice cream!” You know what? He’s right! I have been married to Becky for 11 years and we have dated or been friends for even longer (we were 13 & 14 when we started dating). I know that is just one goal that she would never be able to keep.
So as we were all sitting there (Me, Becky, Jack, Beau, Ethan, and Allie) and we all made up some New Year’s resolutions that we all wanted to keep as a family. We all took turns and wrote them down on a piece of paper to keep on the refrigerator. Now we all have 5 other people that will keep us accountable to sticking to our goals.
So our new revised list looks more like this:
Becky: No Diet Coke and Ice Cream for the month of January (We will revisit this in February)
Mickey: Run 3 days a week and the gym 2 days a week (Notice Becky did not let me cut mine too much… only because she loves and care for me) & no monster drinks (she hates the smell of them)
Jack: more fruit
Allie: “Princesses, Oceans, Bike Rides”
Ethan: move to the beach
Beau: Be nicer to his younger brother, Ethan.
We also did a few FAMILY resolutions.
Here are 5 New year’s Resolution ideas that you can do with your kids (which we are doing this year)
1) Cook dinner 5 days a week (our goal is to get away from quick meals on busy nights, like chicken nuggets, etc…)
* Get the kids involved in this. They will love to help in planning and preparing the meals. If you know you have wrestling on Mondays and Wednesdays, plan a crock pot meal on those days
or have the days of the week be pre-selected categories. Monday = Italian, Tuesday = Crockpot, Wednesday = Mexican, etc
2) Choose a work out schedule and stick to it
* This is by far the hardest one, but working out with kids can be fun. on warm days you can jog while they ride their bike. Make a game of it, I’ll race you to the next mailbox!” Also, it is ok to make adjustments your workout schedule. Flexibility will help you to stay on track more. For instance, I will adjust my days based on my kids sports schedule.
3) Limit your “guilty” pleasures (Do not eliminate them all together)
* Like Becky and her diet coke & ice cream, it is hard to give up something you love. Instead of quitting cold turkey on something, limit it for a period of time or gradually take it out to where you do no want it as much. The same goes for the kids. If they love sweets, limit it to one serving a day after they have eaten their vegetables. Throw in the extra so they will work for it… trust me it works!
4) Increase Family Time (daily)
* This is a very simple one to do but will make a huge impact. It can be something like taking an extra 10 minutes at the dinner table to just talk and laugh, or read a book as a family. We also have a “Special” night with each kids once a month. It takes place on the same date as their Birthday. One of us will do something with that one child and then we will pray over them as a family and tell them how much we love them.
5) Find a Reward system that works
* We always love to reward our kids for “pick me ups” rather that hearing “put me downs” When we hear the kids doing something extra nice for their siblings we will reward them with a cotton ball to put in their jar. Once it is filled up they get a special treat. Now we usually give a nice reward for this one, because they have to work really hard to earn the cotton balls and sometimes it can take a month or two to get there. We will take them bowling, to the movies, or get them a special prize. Again this is not for just being nice, because that is what we are supposed to do. This is when they go over and beyond.
A New Year brings a new beginning. Make a New Year’s Resolution with your kids and hold everyone accountable to sticking with the plan. If you decide not to do a real resolution, just pick one like our 3 year old Allie, who made up her own list to include Princess, the ocean, and bike rides… or better yet, follow Ethan’s plan and just move to the beach. Problem solved.
Thank you for this post. What a great idea to involve the entire family in your resolutions.
I can relate to Becky when not being able to give up Ice Cream, that would be a tough one 🙂
Haha. If bad weather hits… we run to the store to get the staples: milk, bread, eggs, and ice cream!