4 New Year’s Resolutions to Help Your Family Grow Stronger

It’s that time of the year again. No, we’re not referring to all the Christmas-related events. We’re talking about the approaching New Year and all the resolutions that come with it. Making a New Year’s resolution is practically cliche, but it can be an excellent opportunity to help strengthen your family bond and make new memories in the year to come.

New Year’s Resolutions for the Family

Instead of individual habits, your New Year’s resolutions can help build new family routines. Here are four family resolutions worth attempting in the new year.

1. Dinner with your family.

Dinnertime is a great time to catch up with friends and family. It’s the ideal opportunity to spend quality time together and get to know one another. Instead of eating separately or spending the meal watching a device, try having a conversation. If you’re having trouble coming up with conversation starters, try asking some would you rather questions. Would you rather eat broccoli or mushrooms, for example? Do you prefer to read a book or ride your bike?

Simple activities like these are excellent ways to learn more about your kids. Dinner together may already be a habit, or with busy schedules, it may seem impossible. So, while having dinner together every night of the week may not be realistic, having dinner together a few times a week is preferable to not having dinner together at all.

2. Time without a device.

If every time you want to have a discussion, all you see is the top of your kids’ heads, it can feel impossible to actually talk. No one appreciates conversing with someone only to discover that they weren’t paying attention at all. In a world of constant connection to our technological gadgets, it is essential to take time apart from them.

Having a device-free period allows space for genuine communication to take place. Having device-free time at family meals will help guarantee that actual conversation can occur. Whether this device-free time occurs over a family meal or another time, it is something to strive for every day.

photo: NCI via Unsplash

3. Time for a family activity.

The most effective strategy to bring your family closer is to spend time together. Why not use that device-free time doing something fun with your family? Yes, definitely, a family game night, or maybe even a karaoke night, but what else can we do? If your family has a hard time finding time to exercise, consider using this time to go on a hike or a bike ride.

If you want to teach your kids some perspective, organize a charity event or a service activity with them. Take one of your family’s issues and turn it into a chance to accomplish something together. It’s all about spending time together and creating memories.

4. Responsibilities in the home.

Chores are exactly what they sound like: a chore. Have you ever noticed that cleaning the kitchen takes a fraction of the time when you have help? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the entire family collaborated to do tasks, perhaps even turning it into a game? But, what more can we do as a group?

Maybe there’s a house project you’ve neglected for far too long. If the entire family works together, the job gets done more quickly, or at the very least, you’ll make some memories while working on it. In any event, when you complete a project and the family collaborates to get it done, you’ll all share a sense of accomplishment.

Setting New Year’s resolutions may seem cheesy, but you can use the chance for a new beginning to your advantage. They say it takes 21 days for something to become a habit and just 90 days to make it a lifelong habit. If your family works together as a team, you just might accomplish your goals before next New Year’s eve.

Is there anything we missed on this New Year’s resolution list? Share your family’s resolutions with us on our Local Anchor Facebook group.