Positively Parenting - January 2017
Editor’s Note: Positively Parenting is a new monthly question and answer column we will be implementing in The Daniel Island News, beginning with this issue. Readers may send in questions that they want answered by a professional in the local area. Please send questions to katherine@thedanielislandnews.com. We asked local parenting coach Christine Donavan to answer our first question below.
Q: How can I help my child set healthy goals for the New Year?
A: Encouraging your child to plan for a happy, healthy New Year can be a lot of fun. It can also feel like another assignment for children who are enjoying a break from school so bringing joy and excitement to the process is critical.
Stories are so much easier for kids to listen to, so you might want to start by telling tales of your own goal setting experiences. Kids love to hear about silly things their parents have done. How about the time you set a goal to get in shape by running a marathon, ran five miles the first day and were too sore to get out of bed on day two? And, since we live in an affluent area and a culture where success and external beauty are emphasized, you will want to model healthy goals such as feeling more energized (instead of losing 10 pounds), being more focused at work (instead of making more money) and laughing with your friends and family more often (instead of being more popular).
A fun activity for all ages is to make vision boards. This is any sort of board on which you display images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life. Visualization is a proven tool for athletes, entrepreneurs, students, and business people. I know of one family who has made this a New Year’s Eve tradition. They order a couple of pizzas, push the furniture back, lay out magazines they have collected over the year and go to work making vision boards. Make sure there are enough large poster boards, glue, markers, scissors and a variety of magazines with pictures of happy people, fun sports, healthy food and other positive images. Make sure to be focusing on your own board, perhaps commenting out loud about your healthy goals and aspirations. And as you admire your children’s boards you are bound to learn something new and interesting about them. Hang the boards up and watch the magic happen over the year.
Cheering you on! Coach Christine.
Christine Donavan is a PCI®Certified Parent Coach. You may reach her at 843.509.128 or coachchristined@gmail.com.