Can you believe Christmas has already passed and now New Years? Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year? What about a family New Year’s resolution? I know these are a lot of questions, but it’s important you start asking yourself questions now so you can prepare and feel confident that you and your family will stick to your New Year’s resolution.
I made my own special New Year’s resolution and also one with my family. I decided to make my family become part of the fun several years back when I included my family into my New Year’s resolution. I’m sure you can imagine: there were good days, but it was hard to get everyone to commit to something that was my idea. I can’t blame them, my heart was in the right place, I just did not think things through. We live and learn, and since then we have decided as a family on a New Year’s resolution.
This year our family’s New Year’s resolution is to become healthier as a family, both physically and emotionally healthier – eating, walking, and spending time together. Here we are a few weeks into the New Year, and everything is going smoothly, but I can only wonder how long it will last and who will be the first one to complain or pushback. I know I shouldn’t wait for it but with four children I need to be prepared for everything.
Thankfully my husband and I have gained a little experience when it comes to keeping our family motivated, on the same page, and to keeping their eye on the prize.
Tips to Keep a Family New Year’s Resolution & Be Healthier
Since so many of us already know it can be difficult to keep up with our family New Year’s resolutions, here are a few tips to keep you and your family heading in the right direction.
1.) Communicate with your children and make sure they 100% understand and remind them weekly. – My kids forget everything. I can tell them something and in 30 seconds they are looking at me with the “Oh crap, I don’t know what she said. Please don’t do that thing where you ask me to tell you what you said.” Of course, I always ask them, “What did I just tell you?” I want to make sure they fully understand what I tell them and asking them to repeat it tells me how much they were listening lol. My youngest is starting to learn to pay closer attention because when you don’t mom keeps you there even longer talking; it’s so boring lol.
Remember talking to your kids about things is important. Try talking to your children once a week or more, with just a brief reminder of your family goals and how you will achieve them. They should know and have a part in everything. It’s not fun if they are fulfilling your resolution.
2.) Get their feedback & ask them questions too – I honestly think the most important part of getting the whole family to stick together on anything starts with involving them. From the time you start brainstorming your resolution to the final day of your resolution, everyone should play a role. Kids are full of great ideas that are new and help keep things fun. Some of the best ideas we’ve had came from Vayda and Mattie. Plus it makes them feel good knowing they are taking part and helping the family get healthier from the inside out.
3.) Make a schedule that you’re not afraid to break – Okay, life happens which is why many need to have a schedule they can break if life happens. It never fails in my house; the unforeseen circumstances always come when nobody is looking.
4.) Set weekly goals – Setting weekly goals helps to keep everyone motivated and give you something that’s within arms reach if you work for it.
Set weekly goals with the family; it’s an excellent way to bring up your family resolution every week too. Share the excitement when you or someone in the family reaches their goal for the week. If anyone falls short on their weekly goals, don’t be hard on them. Be supportive and help them come up with a game plan and goal for the following week. Don’t freak out, figure out what went wrong, make changes and try again.
5.) Are you making your own New Year’s resolution aside from the family resolution? – I have my personal resolution, and it fits right alongside with our family resolution. I don’t have to go out of my way to keep up with my resolution on top of the family’s. I can incorporate everything together and (fingers crossed) be in good shape when it’s all said and done. As a family we are trying to get healthier physically and emotionally with things like taking walks, playing more, spending more time together, eating healthy foods, doing things we enjoy together, etc. I am trying to get the rest of this weight off, which involves being healthy mentally and physically.
6.) Keep a family journal – I maintain a journal for everything from my personal goals to family goals. It’s a great way for me to hold myself accountable, and once I write it down, it’s more official than just saying I’m going to do it. Plus knowing what you did for the last month will be a huge asset if you ever need to keep the family motivated. Keeping a journal allows you to track everyone’s progress and share the results. Results are a good way to motivate people.
7.) Make it fun – You don’t have to take the kids for an hour walk every single day. Break things up, ask them what they want to do and if you can maybe even allow them a kid free day where they can go and do something active on their own without mom and dad there pushing them. My kids go down the street to the park there for 1 hour. I hate them being anywhere without me, but I can see the park from my house, and I sit on the porch and watch them, lol. Don’t tell them I do that. They are so proud of themselves, knowing I trust them enough to let them walk to the park together. They’ll understand when they get older; it’s not them I don’t trust. It’s that I don’t trust ANYONE else, especially with the people who matter the most.
8.) Rewards – Everyone needs a reward for a job well done, especially the kids. If they have been working hard, or you meet your weekly goal maybe you can do something nice for them – surprise them with a reward. You don’t want them to expect rewards so don’t promise them, surprise them with rewards when you feel they are doing an excellent job.
9.) Make drinking water fun – I made everyone their own Mason Jar cups and painted lines on the front with chalkboard paint so the kids can put an X where they filled their cup up to each time they refill it. When the day is almost over we will all measure our cups and see who drank the most water and who needs to catch up, DAD! You can make drinking water fun.
10.) Don’t make food boring, healthy can be fun too! Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring; it’s the best and can be loads of fun! Have a good time with meals, snacks like this Veggie Island Dinosaur Chicken Nugget with a Fresh Ranch Dipping Pond or a super fun Tuna Boat Sandwich. I am not trying to take everything away from my kids; I’ll still let them be kids and have a candy from time to time. I just do not want them eating more junk food than healthy foods. I’m not the flu; I don’t want to keep my kids from being kids.
11.) Compliment one another – Remember you are one another’s support group. Be sure to compliment one another now and again. Whether it was a great run or you noticed mom dropped some weight, be sure to let them know. It feels good to know someone other than yourself realizes you’ve been working hard. Remember you are one another’s support group and keeping each other motivated is essential.
12.) Make a list of indoor and outdoor activities– There will be days when the kids are not able to go outside, especially this time of year. Be sure to make a list of things you and the kids can do both inside and outside of the house. We like to put our baking hats on, play one of the Wii games that make us get up and move, play and discover (I love this because we get to clean out old closets and drawer, the kids love it because they get new stuff lol).
13.) Maintain good health and be ready for the not so pleasant sick days – Maintaining a strong focus on your family’s New Year’s resolution is necessary if you plan on keeping the momentum going. However, don’t forget what time of year it is and how easily children manage to find germs during playdates, school, gatherings, the store and just about anywhere else they go. I like to stock up on things like Children’s Robitussin®, Children’s Dimetapp® Cold & Allergy, and Children’s Advil®.
Unfortunately, kids get sick no matter how hard you try to keep them healthy. Sure there are things we can do to help minimize the risk but it’s still going to happen from time to time, and when sick gets real we need solutions to help us tackle the ickiest of symptoms. When kids get sick us parents need something to help them feel better. It’s hard to sit back while your child is sick, which is why it might be a good idea to stock up a bit on products that can help ease the aches and pains, coughs, colds, and even reduce a kids fever as quickly as possible like Children’s Advil®. Did you know Children’s Advil® is a fabulous choice for kids as young as 2 all the way up to 11 years of age? If you have a child younger than 2, you can use Infants’ Advil® to provide unsurpassed fever relief (among OTC pain relievers) using the syringe that makes dosing easy for our littlest ones 6 to 23 months.
What are you currently keeping in your medicine cabinet that’s non-drowsy to help break up nasty chest congestion? Children’s Robitussin® DM Day/Night Pack (Children’s Robitussin® Cough & Chest Congestion and Children’s Robitussin® Nighttime Cough) gets rid of daytime coughs without making kids drowsy and helps soothe nighttime coughs, allowing kids to sleep more comfortably and get the rest they need to get better.
One of my favorites is Children’s Dimetapp® Cold & Allergy because it helps my daughter Vayda so much when her allergies start to act up thanks to its congestion-fighting power to relieve stuffy and runny noses and help to relieve watery and itchy eyes.
When sick gets real, don’t be caught off guard! Be sure you’re stocked up with excellent products like Children’s Robitussin®, Children’s Dimetapp® and Children’s Advil® which are ready for duty when you and your child need them. They’ll be there to help relieve coughs, colds, and fevers that can keep our kids down so your child can get back to the important things in life – BEING A KID!
How do you and your family manage to stay on track with your New Year’s resolution or goals you make as a family? Leave us a comment we look forward to hearing from you.
This post is brought to you by our friends at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. All opinions expressed are our own. We only promote service and/or products we currently use or feel our readers will find value in. We’ve been using Children’s Dimetapp®, Children’s Advil® and Children’s Robitussin® with our children for years. They’re our trusted brands!
