Can you believe it – not only is a new year upon us, but a new decade is, too! It’s a monumental time where, as adults, we may feel a little more pull than past New Year’s to set up some goals for ourselves. (I mean, have you seen all of the #2019lessonlearned posts this past week?)
Our kiddos know this is a monumental time, too – which means it’s the PERFECT opportunity to teach them how to make – and meet – some goals for themselves.
If your kid is a dreamer and not a doer, though, today, we’ve got 5 steps to help them make some amazing goals they’ll be able to obtain – and possibly even exceed – in 2020.
Step #1 – Talk about 2019 with your child. What happened that was great? What happened that wasn’t so great? (This tip is a two-for-one!) In his book, The Whole-Brain Child, Daniel J. Siegel, MD, explains it’s important to “remember to remember” both the good and bad by “….asking specific questions, making rituals around remembering details and creating opportunities to reminisce…so our kids get used to focusing on and examining the details of past events.“
In other words, we want to go back and review the past year, making sure our children’s feelings and memories of those events are as accurate as the can be. Did Sally have a blast taking photos during your family vacation? Did Tommy struggle to get back on level in reading when he returned to school? By reviewing 2019 for both highs and lows, you’re helping your children develop a more accurate memory of events and are also generating a list to work off of goals your child can work on in 2020.
Step #2 – Take those 2019 memories and narrow them down to two things your child wants to get better at. Taking hints from our past helps make our goals much more doable. Your kids will develop goals that work on their weaknesses, instead of out of the sky goals such as getting their very own unicorn.
Step #3 – Taking those 2019 memories again, and find two new things they want to try. Sally loved taking photos during family vacation? A goal for her could be learning how to take Instagram-worthy photos in 2020. Did Billy love watching and helping you make a holiday meal? Learning to make a full dinner for his family could be one of the new things he wants to do.
Step #4 – Take the two new things your children want to do or learn, and ask them what the steps are that they will need to do to get there. Help them determine steps that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely (yes – help them make SMART goals).
Step #5 – Make it visual. Vision boards work, y’all. While I love the idea of doing this all arts and crafts style with poster board, magazine cutouts and glue to work on those fine motor skills, you can also do it digitally. A quick search on the Apple app store showed more than 10 apps that are vision-board related.a
Realistic goal setting isn’t just for adults. By utilizing the 5 tips above, your child can come away with some amazing, reachable, and doable goals for 2020! And just imagine what will happen to your child’s self confidence when they turn those “to dos” into “ta-dones”!