🎉 Making New Year’s Resolutions With Kids (Without Setting Everyone Up to Fail)

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Before kids, New Year’s resolutions were aspirational. Drink more water. Work out more. Become a better version of myself by February.

After kids, New Year’s resolutions feel more like a group project you did not sign up for.

Still, I like the idea of involving kids in New Year’s goals. Not in a “new year, new personality” way, but in a simple, realistic way that helps them think about growth without pressure.

Here’s what actually works in our house.

Keep Resolutions Small and Concrete ✅

Kids do not understand abstract goals like “be nicer” or “try harder.” They do understand specific actions.

Good kid-friendly goals look like:

• Read a specific book you've had on your bookshelf for a while
• Make grandma hand-made gift for her birthday
• Run around the track in __ minutes

Depending on what your child likes to do, help them make a goal that they will enjoy and achieve. This allows them to enjoy the concept of resolutions, and continue to incorporate them as they get older.

Write/Track them down together

This make the goal feel real without being overwhelming. I love these blank goal charts that you can put stickers on to show how close they are to succeeding. Another fun idea is to write their resolutions on a piece of paper, put it in a cheap / thrifted frame, and hang it in their room!

Tell them your own resolutions

This part matters more than we realize. Kids learn how to approach goals by watching us, not by being lectured about them.

Tell your kids your own New Year’s resolutions, but keep them honest and age-appropriate. This is not the time for vague self-improvement speeches or impossible goals. Share something real and doable.

Examples:

• “I’m going to try to put my phone down during dinner.”
• “I want to take more walks because it helps my brain feel better.”
• “I’m working on being more patient when I’m tired.”

When kids hear adults admit they are working on things too, it normalizes effort over perfection. It shows them that goals are not about being flawless. They are about noticing what could be better and trying again when you mess up.

Check In Casually, Not Constantly

We do not track progress daily. That turns into pressure real fast. Instead, we do occasional check-ins. Usually at dinner or on a quiet weekend morning.

• What’s going well?
• What feels hard?
• Does this goal still make sense?

Goals are allowed to change. Adults change theirs all the time. Kids can too.

Final Thought

New Year’s resolutions with kids should not feel like another thing to manage. They should feel like a conversation about growing, trying, and adjusting when things do not go as planned.

If your child forgets their goal by February, that is normal (who of us hasn't "forgotten" a gym membership by March, eh?). If they remember it even once, that is a win.

Growth does not need a fresh notebook and color-coded markers. It just needs space to happen!