5 Family New Year’s Resolutions to Keep in 2018

Eating Family Meals

Sitting down to eat together can become a tricky business in a world where everything seems to be moving faster, with more demands on our time and more needs we have to get in front of. So, make a point of setting up time to just share as a family, particularly family dinners. Whether you all agree to sit down to pizza after a long day, or set aside some time as a family to prep, cook, and eat together, work out a regular block of time where you can just sit and talk—no phones, no distractions.

Start A Family Exercise Plan

It’s a fairly common resolution a lot of people make when the new year arrives: This year will be the year they get off the couch and become healthy. And it’s a noble, if tricky, goal for us to reach, and that’s where the family comes in. Set a goal that everyone can participate in to get healthier, like running a 5K as a family or conditioning for a family vacation to bike a set of mountain trails. Even just working on exercise videos as a family will help bring you closer together, and get you fit while having fun to boot.

Build A Family Project

Every family has a big project that it needs, or wants, to get done, whether you’re erecting a shed in the back to finally get those tools out of the basement, or want to finally get a treehouse built to play in. So, in the new year, work out how to set aside some time and money and make that project happen. Of course, how ambitious it will be will depend, heavily, on both your skill set and where you live, but make a point of pushing yourself, so that everyone learns something.

Do Charity Work Together

Sometimes, it can be tough to get kids to see a perspective outside their own. That’s pretty normal, but one of the ways you can get them to think beyond the world they know is to volunteer as a family. Even if you just spend an hour every week helping at a soup kitchen or working in a nature preserve, it’ll be valuable both for giving back to your community and for showing your kids there’s a much broader world.

Spend Less Time On Screens

One of the realities of the world is that there are a dozen different things vying for our attention. Tablets, smartphones, laptops—they’re all pinging. Instead of letting them distract you, set up times when families will put down the screens, and make a family resolution to watch less TV, play fewer games and do more with each other.

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