New Year’s Resolutions for Your Family

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Between extracurricular activities at school and obligations at work, the pressure to do it all is leaving many families breathless. This year, instead of setting the same old New Year’s resolutions, why not have the family set some goals together?

By involving one another in goal setting, families have a bigger chance of achieving a healthier balance at home. Not only can discussing individual goals identify challenges the family should be facing, but it will also help build closer relationships over the long run.

How Setting Goals Can Help

Time management is something many families are struggling with when they see Paige Greytok, a Chicago-based licensed marital and family therapist. “It’s difficult for a family to balance everyone’s individual needs and still be able to come together as a unit,” she says.

By discussing their goals together, families will foster a supportive environment in which individual and mutual goals are identified.

For example, are you setting aside enough time to read to one another? That’s something all families should be doing together, says Greytok. Whether you’re reading to your kids at home or attending a reading group at the local library, it will challenge your kids to use their minds more creatively, she says.

Begin at the Dinner Table

If family dinners are a rarity in your home, make that your first priority.

“One of the best ways to start [goal setting] is planning a meal together,” says Marla Kushner, a physician with two sons in high school. She and her husband make a habit of eating together every night. It’s a time for the family to catch up on everyone’s day.

If your family is very scattered, she suggests planning dinners together, say, every Tuesday. “You want your kids to head in the right direction, and teens need that structure,” she says.

It may benefit your family in other ways. “Lots of statistics report that children who eat at the same time every evening with their family tend to be calmer and feel more support from the family,” says Greytok.

New Year’s Resolutions Ideas for Your Family

1. Ask More Questions

Greytok suggests such questions as, “What are fun activities you’d like to participate in?” “What makes you feel good?” Also, ask about educational and work goals to unearth expectations the other members weren’t aware of.

2. Involve All Family Members

Even at five, kids can pitch in their two cents. “All members of the family have to be supportive of each other,” says Greytok.

3. Take Turns Choosing Family Events

Everyone should be in on picking movies, activities, and even trips. You may choose the location, but fit in a game or amusement park that your kids would enjoy.

4. Find Common Ground

The Kushners recently took their sons to a Bruce Springsteen concert. With a rock aficionado husband and a son in a band, she says concerts are one way to carve out family time.

5. Set Chores for Each Family Member

Sharing chores makes each family member feel responsible for maintaining the home.

The Family Meeting

In the Brady Bunch, there wasn’t a bruised ego or untapped passion that couldn’t be resolved by a family meeting, in which each sibling had an equal voice.

Sure, life was never as simple as the TV show. But, why not hold regular family meetings for everyone to catch up? Holding meetings can go a long way in strengthening family bonds, as well as setting limits for the kids.

“The idea is to figure out what the expectations are,” notes Greytok. Though impromptu get-togethers can certainly address issues as they arise, she also suggests quarterly meetings in which members discuss longer-term goals.