Sometimes we all feel the pull of a fresh start, particularly after days inside eating leftover roast potatoes.
With a recent study1 showing that almost two-thirds of resolutions are ditched within a month, it’s no wonder New Year’s resolutions can make you feel down instead of helping to start the new year off positively. This is one reason why reflecting on the previous year can feel better, as you can remember what went well and build on that success, as well as working out what you want to do differently next year.
Also, in our haste to rush off to new starts, what if we miss out on celebrating some of our biggest wins? Not just for ourselves, but our children too?
If you think back to this time last year, your child will have developed dramatically in all areas. If you have our My First Five Years app, you’ll see all the tiny skills they have mastered to get them to this point. And not just in one area, but in so many areas of their development. Each day shows you more of their personality, their likes and dislikes, along with perhaps better head control, coordination and newly acquired skills or words!
We so often push on to the next thing without celebrating what we’ve achieved. So, this year, instead of planning ahead, why not spend some time reflecting with your child about everything you’ve both accomplished this past year?
You could write a letter together or from you to your child (depending on their age), detailing everything they’ve achieved, recalling funny stories or how proud you are of them. Imagine how lovely it would be to read about a year of your child’s early childhood when they are all grown up. It doesn’t have to be about the ‘big’ milestones, it could be about something that made you smile, something they found funny, their favourite places or a game they loved to play. These are treasured moments in your child’s life that will become precious memories to reflect on together as they grow.
You could print off some photos that remind you of key moments in the year and put them into an album. It doesn’t matter if your home doesn’t look perfect in them – the feeling they capture is what you’re looking for.
Think about this for yourself, too. What have you done that you’re proud of this past year? We have an article all about celebrating your parenting best bits here.
You could take inspiration from some of your favourite times this year to start a jar of memories you’d like to share over the year to come. If they are old enough, why not ask your child about some of their favourite things from the past year, or ideas of what they’d like to do? You could jot them down on separate pieces of paper, fold them then place them in jar, ready to pick out one at a time over the coming year. They could inspire you to revisit favourite places or try something new together. Use them as a prompt to do more of whatever feels good to your family, which doesn’t need to be elaborate. It could be baking, going for walks, or enjoying reading together.
If you’ve had some tough times this year (and many of us have), it’s ok to give yourself a pat on the back for getting through those, too. Not everything is a win; sometimes it’s more than ok to just make it through. Even failure can be positive, because it can help you to strategise what you might do differently next time.
Happy New Year to you and your family from all of us here at My First Five Years. We hope it’s filled with special times for you and your family.
References
[1] Self-Regulatory Goal Motivational Processes in Sustained New Year Resolution Pursuit and Mental Wellbeing by Joanne M Dickson, Nicholas J Moberly, David Preece, Alyson Dodd and Christopher D Huntley
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3084