For thousands of years before candles, and definitely before television and fast foods, humans have used the long dark days of winter to reflect on their wellbeing and make plans for the coming period of growth and building for the future. The first known idea of resolutions began with the Babylonians offering the gods promises to insure good crops and fortune. New Years’ Resolutions are an important part of our culture and as everyone knows most seem to be made to be broken.
In an article in healthychildren.org, Dr.Lanre Falusi has some suggestions for realistic healthy goals for each age group. It is important to remember that the goals need to be simple and achievable. For resolutions or goals to be successful, they must be reasonable. An example is the difference of between saying I will lose a 100 pounds this year to I will lose 2 pounds each month. Every adult know that losing a 100 pounds means failure but the possibility of losing 2 pounds a month is possible. Also building a reward system for the small achievable goals helps them become permanent health behaviors.
Dr. Falusi has some suggestions for New Year’s resolution for preschoolers. “I will try hard to clean up my toys by putting them where they belong.” “I will let my parents help me brush my teeth twice a day.” “I will try new foods when I can, especially all different colors of vegetables.” “I will do my best to be nice to other kids that need a friend or look sad.”
She suggest more ideas for children age 5-12 years old. “I will wear my seat belt every time I get in a car.” “I will always wear a helmet when riding a bike, scooter or skateboard.” “I will take care of my skin by putting on sunscreen and wearing a hat and sunglasses when possible.” “I will tell an adult about bullying that I see or hear about to do what I can to help keep school safe for everyone.” “I will save time to read for fun.”
Ideas for New Year’s resolutions for teens are as follows: “I will try to eat two servings of fruit and two servings of vegetables every day.” “When I feel angry or stressed out, I will take a break and find helpful ways to deal with the stress such as exercising, reading, writing in a journal or talking about my problem with a parent or friend.”
It may be helpful to make up the resolutions lists together and then select one or two to be their personal resolutions. Some sort of check list and reward plan needs to be individually developed and then reviewed frequently possibly as a family or with a parent. The older the child gets the more important they develop their own system of monitoring. It is hard to measure the frequency of some behaviors and to note positive change but the review alone is a reminder.
Happy New Year!
Sally Robinson MD
Dec 2024
Have a healthy, happy New Year.