New Years goals you can stick to

The “secret” to making a New Years resolution is to make it really simple – something small and achievable that you can slot into your day – not something that involves overhauling your entire life and family (much as we may want to sometimes!).

It could be something as small as remembering to say “I love you” every day to your child, or trying to learn a new recipe each week.

If you write down your goals, you’re more likely to achieve them. You can also put them up as reminders to yourself, e.g. “floss my teeth!” on your mirror, or “walk to school!” on your fridge.

So many times we tell ourselves that there’s “no point” trying to work towards our goals anymore because we’ve had one “bad” day, and now it’s all over. We feel bad about ourselves for “giving in” so we just stop working towards our goal at all.

The truth is that changing things take time and it isn’t easy for everyone - so be kind to yourself! Take a deep breath and tell yourself that tomorrow is a new day. You don’t need to be perfect, you just need to be good enough.

Here are some ideas from parents on simple New Years resolutions they've tried that make your life a little bit easier - and that also have spinoff benefits like making you happier, making kids sleepier (YAS), and getting some exercise in. Win, win, win. 

1. Eat a piece of fruit each day. Try to put in little “hacks” by putting the fruit bowl closer to where you get ready in the morning.
2. Walk the kids to school in the morning. If it’s a long drive, get out a few minutes earlier and walk with them from there.
3. Read a book with your child each night. You’ll get some quality time together, and it’ll settle them for sleep.
4. Try to eat together as a family - choose the days of the week that work for you. You’ll save money from cooking different dinners for everyone, and you may actually get to hear how everyone’s day was!
5. Start a gratitude diary. This may sound a bit “woo-woo” – but writing down 3 things that made you good each day has been proven to make people happier – even when they’re anxious or depressed. You can write down if anything from “my baby smiled at me for the first time today” to “managed to wash my hair for the 1st time in 3 days”. You can write in a notepad, or download an app.

We're on the hunt for tips and tricks from parents to share on Parent Club. If you have tips for things parents can to do make life a little bit easier or ideas for a blog, get in touch with our team at parentclub@gov.scot

Why not go back to see other Little Things blog posts?