4 New Year’s Parenting Resolutions for 2022

New Year’s Resolutions for Parenting

Make your home even more peaceful and loving in 2022. With the pandemic raging, our homes need to be a haven for our families. Here are a few New Years Resolution ideas to help moms be calmer and make their homelife more manageable. 

• Good Bedtime Routines: When my children were young, after the initial training period, having a consistent evening routine and bedtime calmed them down and got them ready to fall asleep. The Sleep Foundation agrees with this approach. Steps could include:

1.   Changing into their pajamas

2.   Brushing their teeth

3.   Reading a short bedtime story or Bible story

4.   Praying to the Lord 

5.   Having a small drink of water

6.   Tell them you love them, snuggle and a goodnight kiss

Child calming down by reading at bedtime.

It doesn’t have to be an hour-long process. After you read to them, you can turn off the lights and snuggle next to them and hear about their day. Often in those special moments you’ll hear, “Mommy, I love you!” 

 When your children are 3 years old or older, you can begin using a unique bedtime incentive that will make many children even less resistant to going to bed. This incentive also helps them excel at reading in school. You can learn more from our blogpost Help for Bedtime Rebellion.

Because it’s the same every day, having a routine lessens your stress, calms your child’s mind, and helps them mentally prepare to go to bed. This can give you peaceful evenings to enjoy quiet time to yourself or with your husband.

Little boy wanting to spit out the food he doesn’t like.

 ·  Healthy Eating Habits: “Pick your battles!” is a common saying when it comes to food. Good food is important! What we put in our bodies is key to helping us be strong and healthy. While little bodies are resilient, they may pay the price a few years down the road if our children don’t learn early to eat the kind of foods their body needs. It is easier to teach them to eat well as a young child than it is to make a teen change their diet. While everyone has certain foods that they don’t like, there are ways to increase your children’s palate. 

When you have picky eaters, you have to mentally manage or negotiate meals and food at least 3 times a day, causing you unneeded anxiety and stress. If you take your children to holiday meals or someone’s home for dinner, there are awkward moments if they don’t like what’s on the menu. By following a few simple steps, you can help your child learn to eat well without becoming rigid. A battle for your child’s health is a battle worth fighting.

 · Teach Your Children to Listen and Obey: Our children quickly learn how to get around doing what we ask them to do. If we say, “Janis, please take your fold…,” she has quickly turned and left the room before we were able to finish our request. She has learned that she doesn’t have to listen to or obey you.

 One easy way to get your child to listen and obey is to have them always respond to you with, “Yes, Mom,” or “Yes, Mommy.” The key is to have them say “Yes” and then the name they call you, and to say it in a positive tone. 

 If their tone is grumpy, sassy, or angry, gently ask them to say it again until they can say it in a “calm, agreeable voice.” Then watch to see if they follow through with your request to “please take your folded clothes to your room and put them away in the drawer.”

 When your child responds to you with “Yes, Mom,”Those word have gone into their brain, and if it comes out positively, they have accepted obeying you. If it exits their brain with an attitude, they have chosen to rebel against what you’ve asked them to do, which you then can calmly explore with them.

 · Tell Them About Their Savior: Two easy ways to encourage your children to get to know Jesus are:

 1.   Pray with them. Use every opportunity to pray with your children and teach them how to talk with God. These can be bedtime prayers telling the Lord about their day and bringing their worries to Him, or mealtime prayers thanking Him for their food.

 2.   Encourage Gratitude to the Lord. Throughout the day or on a walk, talk about the things He created and how you are thankful for them. Maybe it’s a warm house in winter or a beautiful red flower at the park. Make time to point out what the Lord has done and what He has given you, so that you can express gratitude to the Lord with a quick prayer as you continue walking. For more ways to encourage gratitude in your children, see 7 Ways Moms Can Encourage Gratitude In their Children. 

By choosing to tackle two of the most common daily parenting agitations - eating and sleeping - you are also teaching your children to obey you. These three steps will reduce your daily stress and make you a more loving mom. Taking the last step of focusing on your Creator will change your perspective on life and begin also to change the hearts of your children. Make 2022 the best year yet for your family with a calm, peaceful home and a less stressed mom.