Along with your personal (fitness) and professional (new jobs, updated resumes) resolutions, many people also use the start of the New Year as an opportunity to create new goals and plans for their families. Your kids are a year older and you are reminded just how precious your time with them is. The New Year is a great time to refocus on what matters most when it comes to quality time with your family as well as addressing any problems that may have begun manifesting.
Families are not perfect. Each member of the family (Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter) might struggle with different issues, at different times. Often, we don’t know when a family member is in crisis. It’s easy to lose sight of your shared goals when one member of the family is struggling. For many families, this is a good time to clarify your shared goals and intentions by sitting down at the New Year and coming up with family resolutions or growth plans.
Having a family growth plan can help each of you stay focused. We recently read that there are four things that every family should do together. They include:
Forgive together: Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do. But when children see their parents acting in forgiveness, it’s easier for them to follow suit. Remember: part of growing up involves failure. We try and sometimes we don’t succeed, but as a parent you want to encourage your child to try again. That’s how we learn and parents need that lesson just as much as kids do.
Eat together: Yeah, we’ve heard this dozens of times but it’s challenging to make this a practice in our busy, working world. Maybe you can’t do it every night (kids have evening activities, one parent might work nights) but plan to eat together as many meals as you can. Even if the first time you’re just getting tacos to-go. When we eat together, we communicate with one another. Meal-planning is a great way to teach children about nutrition and get them involved with preparing and serving the family meals.
Read together: Reading to your young children will create a desire for learning and for the power of storytelling. When they’re little they’re captive audiences, but what about as they grow up? Continue reading to them, maturing to more complex stories until they’re ready to read to you. Then continue reading together.
Get healthy together: Walk once a week as a family, or join the Swim Center. Take a monthly bike ride in the Black Hills, and make a healthy meal plan for the week, together as a family. Don’t forget: Rushmore Family Chiropractic will care for your family at all stages of life!
What does your family need to do more of, or less of? What hasn’t been at the top of your priority list but should be? What will 2018 bring that you – working in unity with your family – can easily overcome?
