New Year’s resolutions aren’t something only reserved for adults. In fact, New Year resolutions provide a great way for your kids to learn about goal setting & developing important life skills. And, as parents, you can guide your preschoolers toward making resolutions that will help them succeed academically, personally, and even within the family.
Now when it comes to New Year’s resolutions for kids, they should be simple, easy to understand, and fun. If it is missing even one single thing, there’s a good chance that your little one will not be willing to go through the resolution/s.
So, with the New Year already here, let’s not waste any time and look at 10 New Year’s resolutions for kids that will help them to develop a sense of purpose and direction.
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Kids
The key to getting the most out of a New Year’s resolution is to be consistent about it. So when you pick a resolution for your kid, make sure that it is not too much for them, and they can easily turn it into a proper habit.
So without any further ado, let’s look at 10 New Year resolutions for a preschooler:
1. Learn a New Word
This is one of those New Year’s resolutions that can be easily added to your kid’s daily routine. For a preschooler, it can help them develop a rich vocabulary and even improve their communication skills.
You can allocate some time at which you will help the kid to learn a new word every day. They can then start practicing the new word in their daily routine to make it a part of their core memory eventually.
In the starting, it would be best to learn those words that can be normally used throughout the day. This means starting with simple words and keeping the difficult ones for the last.
2. Learn to Tie My Own Shoes
“Learning how to tie your own shoes” is also an important milestone that can help a kid in their development. It is an important skill that can help the kid develop a sense of pride and independence. In addition, it also helps them to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
To teach a kid how to tie shoes, the first step is to help them understand the concept of tying. You can achieve this by tying shoes in front of them so that they can better understand it.
You can also show them pictures or a video to better understand how to tie shoes. In addition, the bunny ears method is also a great way to teach kids about this important skill.
If you decide to pursue this resolution for your preschooler, then just know that it may take a lot of time, patience, and practice.
This will also require a healthy dose of participation from your end as well. But with enough practice, your kid will learn to tie their own shoes.
3. Brushing Teeth Twice a Day
I am sure you have already heard a billion times that one should brush their teeth twice a day. But according to a study, only 30% of children actually brush their teeth twice a day!
So another worthy new year’s resolution for a preschooler can be to brush their teeth twice a day. It will help the little ones to fight off bad bacteria from their teeth & feel healthy.
In the start, it might be difficult to get kids to start brushing twice a day if they haven’t done it yet. But once they keep up the routine for a few days, it will turn into a lifelong habit. And to keep their morale up, be sure to appreciate them whenever they do something good like this.
4. Say “Please” And “Thank You.”
Saying “please” and “thank you” are the pillars of good manners & thus, should be taught to children at a young age. In fact, these phrases are a way to express gratitude and respect for the person you are communicating with. And last but not least, they also help one to create meaningful and positive relationships.
So for this year, make a New Year resolution to teach your kids to say these words! To get started, you will have to make them understand which situations require saying these words.
In the next step, make them practice saying these words to family members. And gradually, make them use these words at school, with friends, and with other people!
5. Help Clean Up After Meals
The next resolution for the New Year is to teach kids to help clean up after meals. This will help the kids to learn about responsibility which is very important for the development of important life skills.
Helping to clean up after meals involves clearing dishes, cleaning the table, putting chairs back, and taking care of any leftovers. So when a kid learns to do these tasks, it helps them to develop a lot of skills such as time management, attention to detail, organization, etc.
And last but not least, helping to clean up after meals also makes the kid feel a sense of accomplishment and confidence in their abilities.
6. Wake Up Earlier
Waking up earlier helps one feel more energetic, stress-free, and happier. And not to mention that it also gives one more time to get things done!
So another good resolution for your little one is to start waking up earlier every day. If we look at the habits of all successful people, one thing is pretty common – All of them wake up early in the morning! So that’s yet another reason to pursue this habit and reap all of these benefits.
To get started, you can set an example by waking up earlier yourself. A kid can learn best by example, and when they see you waking up earlier, they will also follow the lead. Another way is to teach kids to set up alarms in their rooms so that they can wake up themselves.
7. Share Toys with Friends
The next resolution on our list is “sharing toys with friends”… This is an important social skill that teaches children the importance of sharing and how to work together.
If your kid already goes to a preschool, then there’s a high chance they already play with toys present in the school’s play area. This presents a great opportunity for your child to start sharing toys with friends and eventually develop a host of important skills such as compromise, fairness, negotiation, and how to be nice.
8. Decrease Screen Time
Our modern society has a lot of benefits, but it has also presented us with some challenges as well. And one of these challenges is excessive screen time. That’s one of those things which has affected everyone (children and adults)!
As per the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, children younger than 18 months shouldn’t have any screen time at all (except for video chatting). And for those aged between 2 years to 5 years, a maximum of 1 hour per day is allowed.
So if your child is spending a lot of time on screen, then make it a resolution to decrease their screen time this year. The best way to go about it is to slowly work towards decreasing their screen time instead of doing it abruptly. In addition, also educate them about the health issues that can arise from excessive screen time. This will further encourage them to actively work towards lowering their screen time.
9. Daily Exercise
Children aren’t getting enough exercise these days & that’s a fact! So another good personal resolution for your kid is to start doing some exercises every day.
For preschoolers, it is usually easy to do exercises on a daily basis – A few jumps here, some running, and a couple of jumping jacks are all the exercises they need!
If your kid already goes to a preschool, then ask the school whether they have any planned exercises or not. You can also make up some time from your schedule and do the daily exercises along with your kid. This will also have the added benefit of more family time & more fun.
10. Drink More Water
The next resolution on our list is to encourage your kid to drink more water. In fact, this is one of these goals which can be picked by the whole family.
You can set a specific goal of how much water intake your kid should have every day… And then help them to achieve this & by the end of the day, make sure to congratulate them on their success!
There are a lot of benefits of healthy hydration in kids, as it can help in maintaining a healthy weight and keeps the bones strong. In addition, it also plays a crucial role in improving blood circulation throughout the body!
Sparkles Early Learning Academy New Year’s Resolutions for Kids
Here at SPARKLES! our experienced and professional personnel are dedicated to your child’s every need as we thrive to achieve every developmental milestone they need in order to succeed and be ready for kindergarten, including New Year’s resolutions for kids.
