New Year's Resolutions — ahaparenting.com

Wednesday, January 02, 2019 Resolved to change your parenting? You can do this! Many people joke about New Year's resolutions as if they're impossible to keep. But there are some people who are able to change their lives in positive ways, using the new year to give them a psychological boost. What do they know that we don't?  In our next post, I'll give you some research-based suggestions to make it easier to keep your New Years Resolution. But for today, let's focus on just one. Ready? Acknowledge that you're doing something really hard. If it were easy, it wouldn't take a New Years Resolution. So assume you'll have days when you fall short. Instead of beating yourself up, use those moments as an opportunity to ask yourself two questions: What would have helped me today to keep my resolution? How can I give myself that support from now on? Then, take a positive step forward, that gives you support. Even if you take two steps forward and one step back, soon you'll find yourself in a whole new landscape. Today, to give you support, I'm asking parents to share their resolutions. We're all in this together, and we all need support.  Do you have a new year's resolution about parenting? Please post your resolution in the comments below for a chance to win a very special new year's gift to support you in your parenting -- complementary admission to the next Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Online Course! We'll draw one random winner on Wednesday January 9th. Your new years resolution doesn't have to be big. Just think of one small step in the right direction. To get you started, here are a few resolutions that parents have shared with me. Take care of myself better so I can be a more present with my child.  Spend time each day connecting with each of my children individually. The things I 'have' to get done can wait because they are only so little for so long. Step away from the phone, and towards my kids.  Take more deep breaths to slow down when I feel like I might scream. Encourage more time playing outside and less screen time. Daily (okay, almost daily) meditation.  Allow yourself to get excited about this vision you're creating for a better future. What will life be like? How will you be different? How will your child or children be different? Spend some time exploring this new vision, allowing yourself to feel how you will feel, once you are keeping that new resolution. You're giving your subconscious instructions on how to transform your life. There's a brand new future waiting for you to arrive. Once you have your resolution and your vision of the positive things that will come from this change, the next step is to develop a simple plan with action steps. We'll walk you through that in the next post!

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