Tips for Keeping Your 2014 Family Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions aren't just for individuals, they're for families too! 

I know what your thinking. It is hard enough to keep my own personal resolutions and goals. Why would I want to set goals with my family too? Why? Because setting goals together, and working towards those goals, brings us closer as a family. It builds trust, unity, and is a great opportunity to teach our children values and skills. Research shows that by the first week of February, only 50 percent of us will still be keeping our resolutions. Don't let your family become a statistic.

Whether you have a word of the year, make New Year's resolutions, or just have a few goals you want your family to work on this year, here are a few tips to help your family stick with those resolutions so you can grow and improve together. 

1. Make your resolutions something that YOUR FAMILY really wants. Your family's goals and resolutions should NOT be something you think you should do as a family. Or something that you are doing just to keep up with what you see on Pinterest, the internet, or that your neighbors are doing. Honestly evaluate what is best for your family. One of the biggest mistakes families make is making resolutions to keep up with "the Jones' "  Don't worry about what other families are doing. 

2. Make sure your eyes aren't bigger than you stomach. AKA, don't set too many goals. In fact, two or three is perfect for your family. Too many and they get hard to keep and focus on. 

3. Goals should be specific. For example, "Save money", is a good goal. But it is not specific. "Save 5 dollars a week" is a better goal. Being specific makes the resolutions more do-able and makes it easier for everyone to understand what is expected. 

4. Leave room for forgiveness. No family is perfect and there will be many times when we falter on our resolutions. That is normal. The difference between those families who reach their goals and those who don't, is the way they react to set backs. Instead of throwing in the towel, problem solve. Then you can rebound and get back on track. 

5. Include the entire family. It is easy to think that successful family goals are only achieved by the parents. But family goals should include the entire family. Including our children provides opportunities for us to work together, hold one another accountable, allows us opportunities to teach our children, and gives our children the chance to see success and failure. Not to mention, each member of our family has great ideas. I can't tell you the number of times that our children have come up with the solutions to family situations. Including them also lets them know that they have a voice in your family. Knowing that they are heard makes them feel loved, important and understood. (Which also leads to kids being better behaved.) Not to mention that kids are great at keeping us accountable. :)

6. Create short term goals to keep you accountable. We hear this all the time, because it is true. As a family, set a resolution, and then set short term goals to help you along the way. Your family will be much more likely to achieve your goals that way. 

7. Make it fun and celebrate! Whoever said resolutions have to be boring? Find fun ways to achieve your goals and celebrate your milestones along the way. This also helps to keep it fresh in everyones mind. Because a year can seem like a really long time.

Looking for a fun way to set resolutions for your family? Create a vision board! Have each member of your family sit down with old magazines, newspapers, markers and crayons, even the computer. Have everyone cut out or print off pictures, words, phrases that represent what they see for 2014 for the family. Put them all on a big piece of cardboard. Then, step back and evaluate the themes that are most prevalent on the board. Use the common themes to create two or three resolutions to best benefit your family this upcoming year. 

And remember, everyones resolutions look different, just like our families. And that is okay.

I would love to hear what your family resolutions are for this year?

This post was written by me, and was originally posted as a guest post on TheIdeaRoom.net.

Making Family Resolutions

After a much needed holiday break, our family is getting back into the routine of life. School is back in session, activities have started back up, and I have found myself, like so many others, making resolutions. 

It's that time of year. Resolutions are the thing to do. :) You might have even made goals for your family. But how many of us sit down AS A FAMILY and make Family Resolutions.

What a great way to strengthen our families, make resolutions together! The perfect way to start the year.

It is also a key way to teach your children important life skills like setting and achieving goals. following through, working as a team and being accountable, just to name a few.

You will want to gather your entire family together to make your resolutions. You want everyone to have input on the decisions. Whenever family members have a say in the decision making process, they are more likely to follow through and support.

Once you sit down together, open the discussion by asking your family what you did great in 2012. Talk about all the strengths your family has, and all the good things your family did.

Keep the discussion positive and focused on all the good. This will set a tone for the rest of the goal setting.


Then, there are a number of different approaches your family can take to make resolutions. A common theme is a good place to start.

How do you come up with a theme?

• Choose a key word you would like to focus on for the year. (service, organization, love).
• Choose a quote, motto, or saying that represents what your family would like to focus on for the year. 
• Choose a scripture that your family would like to focus on. 
• Choose a weakness that your family would like to make a strength.

Next, ask your family...

• is there anything you would like to see changed in our family?
• is there anything you would like to do more of/less of in our family?
• what are some of our family's weaknesses?

Use the thoughts and answers to these questions to help distinguish your resolutions. 

If you can, write everything down on a large piece of paper or a white board so that everyone can see what is going on and consider the thoughts together.

Narrow all the suggestions down to 2-3. Too many choices will be overwhelming.

Once you have decided on your resolutions, you will need to establish the details for each one. Each resolution needs a plan of action.

• How will you accomplish the goal/resolution.
• How will you measure your success/failure.

Remember, this first meeting will set the tone and establish the preliminary resolutions and guidelines. As you go, you will see where you need to make modifications.  

Before your family resolution meeting is over, decide when you will meet next to talk about your progress. This is a very important part of the process, and teaches your children important life skills like learning to follow through when you set goals. 

These follow up meetings should be regular. They should be kept positive, and provide an opportunity to evaluate how your family is doing, and if any modifications need to be made.

You will find that setting family resolutions is not only fun, but it will bring your family closer together. And isn't family closeness a resolution we have every year? :) Don't just set resolutions for yourself this year. Create resolutions for your family also and you will see 2013 be your families best year EVER!

Throughout the rest of the week we will talk about three key resolutions that every family should implement this year. Stay tuned. 

What was one of your families strengths in 2012?
If there is one thing you would like your family to work on this year, what would it be?
Have you made any family resolutions?