New Year’s resolutions for your kids: from eating more vegetables to learning skills

The start of a new year marks a time when many of us focus on self-improvement — whether we’re gearing up to increase the way you exercise or reduce our screen time via our New Year’s Resolutions.

But setting goals and positive intentions for the coming year isn’t just for adults. New Year’s resolutions are something the whole family can get involved in, no matter how big or small the lifestyle changes you propose.

For kids, New Year’s resolutions can be a way to learn skills, increase their responsibilities, and have fun.

Read on for some ideas about resolutions you can set with your kids that might also inspire your own.

Childhood is a critical period of life for self-discovery, which includes finding out what we enjoy (and don’t enjoy) spending our time with. Now is the perfect time to ask your child: what HOBBIES would you like to try? Are there hockey classes? Are you learning to play the saxophone? More painting, baking or reading, maybe?

As we all know from our experiences, not all these hobbies will stick. But New Year’s resolutions provide the perfect opportunity to explore your child’s interests while injecting some much-needed fun into the year ahead and developing new skills.

It’s a story as old as time: kids can be picky, especially when it comes to vegetables. If you’re worried that your child isn’t eating enough of them (perhaps they’re always leaving broccoli on their plates or refusing to eat anything that contains zucchini), it’s time to get creative.

Whether it’s the dish (roasting over boiling, for example), the vegetables themselves (ask your child to pick the vegetables they’d like to try), or even their appearance (how they’re presented on the plate), there are plenty of ways. to encourage your children to eat more vegetables. Another great tip is to mix up your vegetables – you can try other veggie-laden pastas, curries or soups as part of your weekly routine.

Libraries they’re brilliant (and free) learning environments – and they negate the need and worry that comes with spending for hard copies of books or e-books.

With such a range of titles available, libraries offer children a playground to develop their love of reading, improve their literary skills, support their creative imaginations, improve their knowledge of more different topics or just to give them some time away from the screen.

It’s a New Year’s resolution as old as time: more exercise. But trying to get our kids to move more can be a delicate dance.

On the one hand, exercise it is proven to improve physical health (helping sleep, reducing the risk of illness), mental health (improving brain function, reducing the chances of mental health conditions) and social skills (if you participate in team sports).

But one thing we don’t want is for our kids to develop toxic associations with exercise. For example, if they are forced to play a sport they don’t enjoy, or if the exercise becomes just their physical appearance, which could lead to self-image issues later in life.

It’s important to make exercise a fun, doable activity in your child’s everyday life – whether that means joining an after-school club, dancing to their favorite music at home, or occasionally going to school or a friend’s house instead of taking the car.

Whether yours is Italian, Indian or Jamaican, we all have a favorite cuisine. Maybe you treat your family to pizza every Thursday, or Saturday is curry night.

As mentioned before, children can be incredibly picky eaters – but now is the time to introduce them to the world culinary delights. Try different cuisines by cooking new dishes at home, or swap your favorite dining spot for another local restaurant on the weekend.

Practice sharing, giving and get involved in more charitable activities

Set your child up for success in life: You don’t want them to grow up with a sharing problem, especially if they’re an only child. A focus on sharing – at home or at school – is a useful New Year’s resolution that they will appreciate later in life.

Giving more is another intentional mission to bring into the new year. Whether you donate your time (through charity work or helping various causes) or goods (old clothes and toys or food for those in need), the New Year is a perfect time to start spending more time helping others .