I know you’re probably thinking to yourself, another resolutions post? There are so many out there. But I’m hoping this one makes you think a bit more about your own parenting and how you can specifically improve.

Often when we make resolutions at the beginning of the year, we think of fairly broad goals. When it comes to parenting, we often set goals such as, “I’ll be more patient,” or “I’ll spend more time with my children.” While those are wonderful, I think we need to go a little deeper and be more specific.

Set Specific Goals

I have a 10-month-old son. Right now, my parenting doesn’t really involve much discipline or juggling time spent with multiple children. But I still have goals specific to the way I parent my child. One of my goals is to not get on social media while my son is awake. To me, that is a very specific goal that I would like to work on. It doesn’t help me to just set a goal to not be on my phone as much. I had to look deeper and start with something that I knew I could do. And it really has been hard for me, but I know the long-term effects will be worth it.

Parenting Goal #1: Do not get on social media while my son is awake.

Maybe you have toddlers and other young children and you want to be more patient with them. Perhaps a goal could be to spend some time each day doing your own self-care, whatever that may be so that you can refocus your energy on those little growing children.

Perhaps you have teenagers and you want to spend more time with them amidst their busy schedules. A specific goal could be to dedicate a night out of the week to do something with them that they enjoy. Schedule that night in the family calendar. My husband and I want to have “date nights” with our children once they turn 4. This means that they each get one night out of the month to have one-on-one time with one of their parents. These nights don’t have to be long, even 30 minutes would help.

So maybe you need to reevaluate your New Year’s Resolutions when it comes to parenting. I know, we all have bad days and we aren’t perfect, but if you start with something specific, even if you only have one goal right now, I promise it will make a difference. And involve your children if you have to! As hard as it may be, sometimes we have to let go of our pride and ask for their input on what we can improve. They are the ones most affected after all.