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New Year’s Resolutions for Families

Each year, millions of Americans tackle the annual ritual of making New Year’s resolutions.  Some will succeed, some will stumble.  What is the secret to New Year’s resolution success?  Not going it alone! 

 

Making a commitment to a healthier lifestyle is more important now than ever.  Making this commitment together as a family or with supportive group greatly improves success. 

 

This year, we are calling on all families to make a commitment to their family as they build their 2007 New Year’s resolutions. 

 

Did You Know?

Studies confirm again and again the vital role that interaction and connectedness play in the long-term health and well-being of individual family members.  As families struggle to balance work, family and health, the need to connect is as strong today as ever before.

 

Supporting data may be alarming, but turning the tides is possible:

 

• Our nation is facing a dramatic lifestyle health crisis. Sixty million adults—about 30 percent of the U.S. adult population—and 9 million children are obese or overweight; 16 percent of our children have Type II diabetes.  According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the current generation of American children could be the first to lead shorter lives than their parents.

 

• Small changes can make a major impact.  The CDC found that participating in moderate physical activity, such as walking for 30 minutes at least five times a week, substantially lowered the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, colon cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. 

 

• Introducing healthy habits early can have a lifetime benefit.  Children who develop healthy exercise and eating habits while they are young are more likely to continue to lead healthy lifestyles through adulthood.

 

Strong Family = Healthy Family

While current health statistics clearly illustrate ‘why’ it is so important for kids and adults alike to lead healthier lifestyles, at the YMCA, we believe strong families play a critical role in ‘how’ to make it happen.

  

Look at the facts:

 

• Participating in family rituals that foster togetherness and communication is strongly linked to adolescent mental health. 

 

• Teens who eat with their families most days have better grades and less depression and substance abuse than kids who frequently eat on their own.

 

• University studies show that young kids and teens whom eat regularly with their families eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber and whole grains and consume less soda and snack food.

 

• A 2004 YMCA of the USA study found that parents who received support from community organizations such as YMCAs reported positive experiences for their children, saying the programs enabled their children to engage with other kids, provided positive influence and offered role models.

 

Start making your New Year’s resolutions together as a family now!

Setting goals that balance, nurture and strengthen spirit, mind and body are key to building strong and healthy families.

 

As you begin making New Year’s resolutions with your family, be sure to check out the following links for specific New Year’s resolutions ideas for you and your family and other tips for success:

 

• Unique and Fun Family New Year’s Resolution Ideas
• Tips for Family New Year’s Resolution Success
• Stanford Health and Lifestyle Assessment: A Tool for Understanding Your Current Health Status
• Building Family New Year’s Resolutions: Fun Brainstorm Worksheet (PDF)
  
   

More Information on Health and Wellness

• Action for Healthy Kids [http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/]
• Active Living by Design [http://www.activelivingbydesign.org/]
• America Cancer Society [http://www.cancer.org/]
• America On the Move [http://www.americaonthemove.org/]
• American Academy of Pediatrics [http://www.aap.org/]
• American Diabetes Association [http://www.diabetes.org/]
• American Dietetic Association [http://www.eatright.org/]
• American Heart Association [http://www.americanheart.org/]
• American Public Health Association [http://www.apha.org/]
• Association for Community Health Improvement [http://www.communityhlth.org/]
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [http://www.cdc.gov/]
• Lean Plate Club [http://www.leanplateclub.com]
• National Association for Sport and Physical Education [http://www.aahperd.org/NASPE/]
• National Association of Chronic Disease Directors [http://www.chronicdisease.org/]
• National Recreation and Park Association [http://www.nrpa.org/]
• Nutrition.gov [http://www.nutrition.gov/]
• President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports [http://www.fitness.gov/]
• Smart Spot [http://www.smartspot.com/]

 

Tips for Family New Year’s Resolution Success

 

Hopefully these will be the last resolutions you will have to make!  

Keep setting and attaining small, incremental resolutions and you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come when assessing your progress a year later. You will be able to make an everyday commitment to yourself and to your family that will resonate positively throughout your lives.

PREPARING RESOLUTIONS TOGETHER:

• Schedule a time to talk about family resolutions.  Put it on the calendar at a time when the entire family can devote enough time to discuss without running in or out for soccer games, work or other activities. 
  
   
• Ask everyone to come prepared. Encourage all family members to brainstorm fun resolution ideas in advance to prepare for the discussion.  The youngest family members can also participate with help from an older family member.
  
   
• Hold a planning “meeting” that is meaningful and fun.  Give everyone a chance to participate by sharing his or her ideas and helping “run” the meeting. 

• Give everyone a chance to “present” his or her contribution.
• Teens can take notes on their laptops.
• Little ones can be in charge of making healthy snacks.
• Elect a family member to lead the agenda—not necessarily an adult.
  
   

DEVELOPING RESOLUTIONS TOGETHER:

• Make “well-rounded” resolutions.  Make commitment which aims to strengthen and balance spirit, mind and body.  Consider areas outside of fitness, such as improved nutrition, increased community service and additional time spent together as a family.

 

• Mix it up.  Making a variety of resolutions offers more opportunities for success.  When one resolution is starts to get tough, achieving success on another can boost confidence.  Success while volunteering can make up for a last week’s fast food dinner.
  
   
• Make resolutions specific, realistic and measurable. Develop resolutions that include the whole family and consider each person’s starting point.  Pick goals that are measurable and put the family on the road toward a healthier lifestyle. 

 

• Accentuate the positive.  Make more resolutions which focus on adding healthy activities rather than restricting unhealthy ones. Look for success in small increments by creating short-term goals and avoiding “all or nothing” thinking. 

 

• Don’t “over resolve.”  Consider what’s realistic given realities of your family current daily life that cannot be changed, or at least not changed overnight.
  
   

FINDING RESOLUTION SUCCESS TOGETHER:

• Track progress in a fun, interactive and visual way.  Put resolutions in writing and display them on the refrigerator where they can easily be seen.  Be creative: make resolution posters and charts for mapping progress. 

 

• Celebrate with positive, healthy rewards.  Honor small successes with positive, fun and healthy rewards that meet the needs of the entire family.  Check in with each other regularly and celebrate achievements, big and small. 

 

• Prepare for setbacks.  A bout with the flu might get the family off track for a week, so schedule a family meeting to get restarted.  Setbacks are not failure—they are times to call in the troops for reinforcement. 

 

• Work together as a team to overcome barriers. If a family member is having trouble meeting a goal, brainstorm together to develop a new strategy.  If mom can’t find time to exercise, kids can wash dishes while she takes a walk outside.

 

 

Unique and Fun Family New Year’s Resolution Ideas

Need some inspiration?  Here are a variety of resolutions to strengthen your and your family’s spirit, mind and body:

 

BUILDING STRONG SPIRIT: CONNECT WITH OTHERS

As a family and as a couple

·         Plan a family outing like a short road trip or apple or strawberry picking.  Even little outings are great memory-making opportunities.

·         Work on a family project together; engage the kids and your spouse in home improvement efforts or baking projects.

·         One day or more a week, eat dinner together as a family with the TV turned off and talking to each other as a family.

·         Get to know your kids; encourage your kids to get to know you Ask each other a question and give an honest answer (i.e. Who is your best friend? What did you eat for lunch today?). Be creative—this should be fun!

·         Make a regular date night with your spouse.  Even if it’s just a couple of hours every other Tuesday, set aside connect time.

 

With extended family, friends and neighbors

·         Take time/make time for a monthly call to out-of-town relatives and long-distance friends to catch up and share news.

·         Create an e-mail list to keep in touch monthly with extended family and friends regularly instead of just with holiday newsletters and cards. 

·         Connect with other families. Reach out to a neighborhood family that you don’t know well and commit to getting to know them better.

·         Get involved with a family activity at the YMCA.

 

Give to others through community service and volunteerism

·         Offer your own time or adopt a project as a family.

·         Participate in a family fundraiser for a local charity.

·         Volunteer for a committee or event in your faith community.

·         Every season change, plan a family weekend to package outgrown clothes, toys and little-used household goods to deliver to a local charity collection site.

 

Reconnect with “you”

·         Keep a daily journal, attend a weekly worship service or take a yoga class or go on a walk after dinner.

·         Commit to regular meditation/quiet time (no TV, computer, Blackberry or cell phones).

·         Volunteer at your local YMCA as a coach, literacy tutor or child care provider.

·         Be kind and friendly to others.  Kids can reach out to a shy or new classmate; the family can help an elderly neighbor with chores.

·         If there are times when you feel sad, reach out to someone to talk about it. Encourage children to do the same.

 

 

BUILDING STRONG MIND: EMBRACE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Learn something new

·         Start learning a new language as a family.  For example, every Tuesday at dinner, we’ll learn words and phrases in a new language and practice using them (perhaps in advance of a trip.)

·         Take a computer class at a community college or other center.

·         Learn photography as a family—taking photos, working with them on the computer, creating albums and keepsakes.

·         Play word games together like Scrabble, Balderdash, Sudoku or crossword puzzles.

 

Spend more time reading and learning new words

·         Join a book club.  Create a family book club.  Instead of renting movies, read and discuss a book together.

·         Learn how to read food labels as a family. Limit your intake of high fructose corn syrup.

·         Expand your vocabulary.  Discover new and interesting words.  Help kids learn new words to communicate their feelings.  Celebrate a new word of the week.

 

BUILDING STRONG BODY: TOGETHER AS A FAMILY

Adopt healthier eating habits

·         Eat fast food one less time each month.

·         No soda or sugary drinks.  As your primary drink, choose water, 100% juice or fat-free milk instead.

·         Add at least one fresh fruit snack to your daily routine.

·         Switch to whole grain breads, pasta and cereals.

·         Plan a family “pantry raid”—read labels and remove foods that don’t fit in your healthy eating plan—high sugar, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup.  Then shop together to restock with healthy foods.

 

Find more time for physical activity and play

·         Spend 30 minutes outside playing with your kids—regardless of the weather.

·         Find a place that provides opportunities for the entire family to be physically active together or offers childcare and after-school or teen programs.

·         Add physical activity or play time to the calendar. Schedule an evening walk, YMCA class, soccer games for kids with the same commitment as other important meetings.   Busy families live by the calendar.  If your time for physical activity as an individual or as a family isn’t on it, it won’t happen.

·         Pick a fun run/walk or 5K a few months away.  Sign up in advance, train as a family and participate in it together.

·         Think in small steps.  If you are just starting an exercise program, focus first on adopting the habit—regular walks or a low-impact class.  As you attain your first goal, set the next one and raise the bar if you are ready.

·         Be mindful of choosing an activity that is fun for you, fun for the whole family and will allow you to engage with others.  It is much more fun to work towards success when you have the support of your personal community.