New Years Resolutions For Parents

New Year’s Eve brings many promises of new beginnings. Many choose weight loss or healthy lifestyle as their top priority while others want to get that promotion that they believe they need or to change jobs. Others want to set other goals to better themselves and family goals to give their family the best life. While the majority of resolutions are monetary or about weight loss, we want to bring to you some resolutions that many parents should have and our suggestions will surprise you! Here are the top New Years Resolutions for parents everywhere!

You Do Not Have to Be a Perfect Parent- Just an Attentive Version of yourself

You do not have to be that Pinterest perfect parent. Those perfect crafts that are not executed properly are not a failure on you. Your children playing outside with scraped knees or just having a relaxing day (or week) at home does not make you a failure as a parent. It is not your job to constantly have your family in events and sports, crafting and baking for the sake of giving them perfect childhood memories. The perfect memories do not come from the things you have bought or the money you spent but in the time you spend with them. That is the priceless memory.

When you break down a perfect memory of a vacation or a sporting event, it was amazing to see new places or watching that game but it was actually the time spent together that made it special. “I saw that goal with my Dad” or “I learned how to surf with my siblings” are the memories that keep us going, but the core of it was doing these actions together.

That does not mean do not go out and enjoy your family. Do it for the love of the game, the travel or the perfect craft. Do not do it for a tally of what a typical parent does.

Time Not Money

Getting private tennis lessons with an incredible instructor is a great experience for a child and if you can afford it, it is a wonderful time for your child to explore a new sport with a unique experience. However, your child will appreciate you being their watching them play even more.

Money is always a worry with families and rightly so! Things are so expensive and many families have problems trying to make ends meet.  Many parents worry about not being able to afford that private school or that personal training. They feel like they are failures, especially where social media is an easy access to all of those people who have those things. However, even the families who have the least amount of money can be happy with the time spent with one another.

Being together, talking to your kids about life, love, sports, politics, whatever your niche is and whatever their niches are creates a bond like no other. Sitting at the dinner table without phones or technology and engaging in active conversation where everyone from Mom to the child are allowed to have an equal opinion is nothing short of magic.

Don’t let money hold you back. If you are on opposite schedules with your children due to work, leave them a note. Make this a thing that you can do. Facetime on your breaks if time allows it. Make unique decisions that help your family stay together. Not everyone has that 9 to 5 life.

There is not one perfect way to parent

There is not a perfect recipe to be a parent. If there was, we would have created it long ago. There is a way to parent your best way. Your children want to know you as a person behind the parent authority. Remember, these people share genetics with you! They may have a lot of the same thoughts and feelings and you are a wealth of information. Your kids want to know about your successes and even your failures. It makes you human and they will have more respect for you than trying to be the perfect parent.

Having you there to listen to, to bounce ideas off of or just be there to hang out is more to them than anything. Include them in your interests and be sure to have them include you in theirs. You never know what you will learn and explore together as a family!

Don’t Judge Other People’s Parenting Practices

Whether you are a vegan family trying to navigate a meat eating world, you home school or you practice gentle parenting, everyone’s parenting practices are different. As mentioned before, there is not one perfect way to parent. Just because someone has different ideas than yourself does not mean they’re out of bounds for being a family friend. Eat vegan for a night with your vegan friends! Ask the home schooler about any alternative programs to help your child with their reading or watch that gentle parent as they parent their child. Whether you agree with it or not, there is always something to learn for yourself. Also as long as everyone is healthy and happy and safe in a family, the rest is really none of your business. Instead focus on your family and raising children that are accepting and loving of others more different than themselves. Your children will learn from your fine example.

Be Friends with People Different Than Yourself

We find that a lot of parents hang out with a lot of likeminded parents. This is great to find people with common interests! However, we learn from those who are different from us. Go to cultural events, stand alongside families with autism to help them get more assistance. Volunteer at homeless shelters with your family and work with people who have accessibilities. Families who do not fit into society’s idea of normal are often times isolated and could use allies. You will gain knowledge and wisdom from these groups that will change your life for the better. Most of all, you will make lifelong friends and your family will be more well-rounded for it.

Give Yourself as a Parent Time to Yourself

You deserve time to relax and rejuvenate. For some of us, it means taking a small vacation or staycation alone. For others, it means getting five minutes alone to go to the bathroom in peace. Whatever your capabilities and the cards that life dealt you, actively find ways to have time to yourself. You are human and you deserve a break. Within your means, make it work. Even if it is just for five minutes.

Forgive yourself

We find that many parents are hurting, feeling shame and pain about the way they were raised or mistakes that they feel that they have made as a parent. Forgive yourself! Make wrongs right again. Move forward. Heal and take time to heal yourself. Treat mental health the same way you should treat physical health. You are enough. You are a good parent. You need to show yourself kindness so you can be better at being kind to others. This should be one of the top New Years Resolutions for parents. FORGIVE YOURSELF.

We hope these are six New Year’s Resolutions for parents that you try out and that you keep this year. You deserve it. Life is hard enough, it’s time to enjoy the times we have with our family without worry. Happy New Year!

What is your advice for New Years Resolutions for parents?