Family Goals for the New Year

I have a confession. I don't make New Year's resolutions. I don't even like to think about them. Why? Let's face it. Come mid-February, too many of those resolutions have already fizzled out and are forgotten. Unfulfilled resolutions don't lead to real changes.

On the other hand, I am one who constantly seeks ways to improve and the beginning of a new year is an excellent time to initiate those improvements. Instead of making New Year's resolutions, I choose to use the start of the New Year as an opportunity to reevaluate my life, determine areas I can make better, and build new goals to achieve in the upcoming year. Not resolutions but life changes. Usually I focus on personal or career related goals. For 2011, however, I am adjusting my focus to create goals for the benefit of my whole family in the New Year. I encourage you to do the same.

Why Set Family Goals?

Family goals for the New Year - or anytime - identify a common purpose for the group and help determine priorities for the family and for each of its members. The majority of the family goals will be for the whole family to work on, while others may develop into more specific goals for individual family members. Regardless, they all are aimed to benefit the entire group.

Creating the initial plan of attack to achieve those family goals may involve a fair amount of work and communication, but once the plan is in action, it will reduce the stress level in the home. Unlike those unresolved New Year's resolutions, family goals aren't reliant on only one individual and are met through a team effort. All the members of the family working together for the same goals helps to reduce the amount of pressure placed on any one member to make it happen. And it draws the individuals closer together as a family unit, which is the ultimate goal.

Of course, family goals are subjective and will depend on the needs of each family. They also should be attainable. Here are a few of my own family goals for the new year to get you thinking:

My Family Goals for the New Year

1. Spend more one-on-one time with each family member. Any parent knows this is not always as easy as it sounds, but it is possible and very important to building stronger relationships between parent and child, as well as the mother and father. Schedule individual play dates with each of the children and date nights with your spouse. (Here are a few fun date night ideas for parents to help out.)

2. Save more money and spend more time. Make wiser spending choices and find more family activities that don't require spending money. Instead, focus on spending time together. For instance: take a hike, go camping, have family game nights, or find new hobbies the whole family can enjoy together.

3. Eat more fun, healthy meals together as a family minus the television, computers, cell phones, and video games. Technology can be a great bonus to many areas of life, but it can also create a huge barrier to communication when it plays an integral part of family mealtime. Unplug from gadgets, sit down at the table together, and plug into the family.

4. Breathe more, yell less. Consider words more carefully before speaking them. They cannot be taken back. Step back and take more "time-outs" when a bad temper or a case of the crankies starts to invade.

5. Take a cue from the children and view life through their eyes. Don't get so busy with work and obligations that you forget to enjoy the life with which you are blessed. Stay grounded, appreciate the little things, and remember to laugh often.

Resources:

"Setting Family Goals" by Our Busy Family Life, part of the Families with Purpose organization
Tricia Ballad, "Family Goal Setting and Planning" at LiveStrong.com
Claudia Quigg, "Setting Family Goals" at BabyTalk.org