The start of a new year is a great time to re-set, make new plans and decide what has worked well for you and your family and what could use some tweaking. It’s time to set some goals and plan for the coming year – and make it a family affair!
Including the kiddos in creating goals, both family and personal, helps foster a sense of independence, ownership and self esteem. Goal setting helps to promote a positive attitude and directs energy and time towards something important and meaningful.
4 Ways To Include Kids in Goal Setting
A Year In Review
Take some time to help kids think back over the last year and answer some question:
- What was something you did that you were proud of?
- What was something that was a challenge for you?
- What was something you wanted to do, but didn’t?
- What were some of the best moments you had?
Helping our kiddos reflect and articulate some of their best, and hardest, moments is a good way for them to see how much they have grown in a year! It will also help them set some goals going forward.
Create a Vision Board
Grab some supplies and let kids dream! Creating a vision board is an awesome way to set goals, make plans and imagine whatever they want – academic achievement, activities they want to participate in, a sport they want to try, etc.
Have kids look through magazines or print pictures from the internet that align with their goals. Help them think through some of the questions they answered above and decide what they’d like to focus on in the new year.
Place their vision boards in a place they can see them daily. This will be a reminder of what they want to work toward!
Make A List of Personal Goals AND Rewards
Once the kids have answered those good questions and identified some of their strengths and achievements, along with challenges and areas they’d like to work on, it’s time to make a list!
Start by focusing on their strengths and what they are good at –
- How would they like to grow those skills?
- Can those strengths help support them in the areas they struggle?
- What would they like their goal to be in these areas?
Then look at the things they’d like to work on –
- What achievable goals can you set?
- What small steps can they take to achieve the overall goal?
- Can you set smaller benchmarks along the way?
Remember, big goals are awesome but if they aren’t achievable that can lead to frustration.
Now that they’ve set their goals, the fun part happens!
Brainstorm some rewards and ways they’d like to celebrate achieving their goals. It could be an ice cream date or staying up late on a weekend – whatever will get them excited and motivated to work toward their goals!
Set Up A Family Calendar
At Beyond Speech, we love having a place where all the family “stuff” is clearly set and where goals and milestones can be tracked. Creating a family calendar is a fabulous way to do this!
Research has shown that having a predictable schedule and routine is so important to the social emotional health and development of our kids. When they know what they can expect from the day, week and month, kids are able to feel safe, supported and confident and this is key in setting them up for success!
A family calendar is also the perfect way for kids to manage and track the goals they’ve set for themselves!
- Create a place for them to check off household chores
- Make a countdown to a test or school project so they can manage their time and tasks
- Set milestones so they can see how they are progressing toward a goal
- Schedule check-ins to help them self monitor their progress
These simple steps are so supportive in developing important executive functioning skills and can help kids take ownership of their goals!
For younger kids, a visual calendar is a great option to help them plan and keep track of what’s happening during their week. We love the schKiduels Visual Schedule!
At Beyond Speech Therapy Specialists we love seeing our families come together to work toward a common goal. Whole family wellness is important and when challenges are faced as a united front, anything can be overcome!
Take some time to begin the year with reflection and goal setting – we can’t wait to watch you thrive!