HEALTHY NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FOR CHILDREN

The new year is the perfect time to get your child to understand that a change in habits is a great idea. But it’s up to you to provide the momentum to make sure everyone follows through!

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Now that we’re at the start of 2022, you have the power to make the New Year’s resolutions fun for your kids, introduce a rewards system, or even resolve to give lots of praise and ‘thank-you’s’ to your kids for doing well. And always remember, it only takes three weeks for a new habit to form!

Start by setting some realistic goals that you know your children can achieve without stress and pressure. Under these circumstances, children like having something to work towards. You can introduce sticker charts to track progress depending on their age.

SET YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS TOGETHER

It will be overwhelming for children of any age to deal with a long list of things they need to change, practice or improve. For this reason, it’s better to sit together and decide on the one or two goals they want to go for. This way, they are psychologically committed themselves - rather than just being told what to do.

Make it fun

When your child reaches the (manageable) goals you have agreed together, let them know that it’s worth celebrating! This needs only to be as simple as letting them decide the family movie for movie night together.

If you are intending to help your very young children to eat more fresh fruit and veg, a fun way to do this is to add sweeter veggies like carrots and beetroot to smoothies that they will enjoy. Involving kids in making the decisions about family meals can help turn these resolutions into habits you can all sustain.

Here are some healthy resolution ideas for you to consider for children of all ages:

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR TODDLERS

Tidying up the toys and putting them away after each session of playing