The beginning of a new year typically comes with New Year’s resolutions and goal setting.
For parents, this can be a great time to work on goals for you and your children. Perhaps this year you want to read more together, visit someplace that has been on your travel list or just spend more quality time together as a family.
A few ways you can set goals this New Year:
- Get your child’s input. Ask them if there is anything they would like to try and/or do more of this year. This not only provides your child with the opportunity to share a specific goal they have in mind but it also allows them to express their feelings.
- Create SMART goals. Create goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and within a set time frame.
- For Example: If one of your goals this year is to read together more and focus on reading comprehension, then one way to make this a SMART goal is to say: “By the end of March, we will read one book together and Marta will answer three open-ended questions related to the book.”
- If your family has a similar goal you would like to work on, check with your speech therapist and/or teacher to determine what reading level is appropriate for your child, as well as get a few ideas of what to work on at home.
- Additionally, set aside a day and time for you to work on your goal. For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you’ll spend 10 minutes reading before bedtime. Make sure it is a day and time that works for both of you!
- For Example: If one of your goals this year is to read together more and focus on reading comprehension, then one way to make this a SMART goal is to say: “By the end of March, we will read one book together and Marta will answer three open-ended questions related to the book.”
- Create a visual of your goals. Take some time to create a chart that tracks your goals and progress and display it somewhere easily visible in your home. An alternative option is to track your progress using an app, such as FamJam, Dragon Family or Joon: Habit & Chore Tracker. These apps are also great because they can be used to set up chores and rewards.
- Celebrate when you complete your goal! When you meet your goal, take some time to tell your child how proud you are of them and decide together how you would like to celebrate. You can go out for ice cream and maybe even pick your next book!
Most importantly, remember to make goal-setting fun! It’s okay if you didn’t achieve your goal the first time, just make sure to adjust and try again. Sometimes life gets too busy and we have to re-direct our attention to other, more important matters. Goals are meant to help guide us, not serve as unwanted stressors.
If you would like to share some of your family’s goals or get some ideas, join us for our next Parent Support Group! We will be sharing goals we want to accomplish this year and discussing tools we can use to help achieve them.
Please click here to submit your contact information, and we will be in touch with additional details soon!
Written by: Laura Zelaya
Social Worker at Texas Hearing Institute
