If you ask my kids to name their goals, one would say “to build something epic in Minecraft” and the other would say, “Mom, I can’t.” But setting goals, especially new year goals with kids, is a great skill to build in them. Setting goals is how they can gain and maintain momentum in all sorts of areas, like their faith, academics, friendships, and hobbies.
Do you sit with your kids and set new year goals? Unless you’ve got a highly motivated kid, it might be like pulling teeth. But when you explain goal setting in a kid-friendly way, your kids can understand the importance and take ownership of their goals, which of course, leads to greater success! To help, we’ve broken it down into 3 steps. And remember, these are their goals, not yours!
Step 1: Teach your kids why we need goals.
It was natural for me to teach my kids about manners and managing their emotions, but several years into parenting, I realized I also needed to teach my children about setting goals. Goal-setting can help a child connect his present to his future. Goals help kids direct their energy and time toward something that’s important to them and learn to break down what’s overwhelming into small, manageable steps.
For instance, my high schooler would love to play first chair in the orchestra. When that desire is set up as a goal, he learns how best to use his time and resources to meet that goal—perhaps by increasing his daily practice by 15 minutes or adding in technical exercises to increase proficiency.
Step 2: Teach your children how to set goals.
One of the best ways to teach kids how to set goals is to use the SMART method. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.
Specific goals are well-defined. Instead of “do well in school” kids should set a specific goal such as “make an A in algebra I.”
Measurable goals mean your child can track her progress toward the goal. Instead of “be a better basketball player,” she could choose measurable goals, like “make 60% of free throws.”
Attainable goals help your child figure out how to get to the endpoint. This is where your child will determine the steps needed to meet a goal. If his goal is to “save up $1000 before college,” then he can begin to list the steps needed to get there.
Realistic goals will teach your child to shoot for something reasonable and not so challenging that he’s bound to fail. Ask your child whether she has the skills and resources to achieve that goal. Listing those resources can be a reference tool for him to look back on as he’s working toward the goal.
Time-bound goals need to be achievable within a specific timetable. You can choose goals for the semester or goals for the year. Younger children usually need
a shorter time frame as a full year can seem limitless to a 7-year-old. Our You Can Do It printable is a fun way for your child to keep track of how many days she’s been working toward her goal.
Step 3: Teach your children what areas need goals.
Giving your children a few areas in which to set goals will help them think through where they are now and what changes they want to make. In our family, we ask our children to set goals in five areas: academics, health, relationships, extracurricular and personal/spiritual.
Academics covers primarily school goals but also can include outside reading and tests like the SAT or ACT. Health goals include eating and exercise habits. Relationships cover both family and friends. Extracurricular goals can include outside sports, music, clubs, and volunteer work. And personal/spiritual lets the child look at personal habits that need to be challenged or changed.
Two more tips will help make your goal-setting work: have your child write the goals down and pin them to a bulletin board or put them in a notebook where progress can be measured along the way. We have so many new year goal-setting tools and school year goal printables, so be sure you check them out here and help your kiddo get motivated!
What about long-term goals for yourself? Check out 10 Goals You Should Accomplish in 10 Years.
What are some of the goals of your children and family?
