Welcoming the New Year: Setting Goals Together as a Family

Written By: Tania Villalón Rivera, Parent Engagement Coordinator, UCP of Central Florida

The start of a new year is a wonderful opportunity to pause, reflect, and look ahead—and children benefit from this process just as much as adults do. Setting goals with kids helps them build confidence, responsibility, and a sense of purpose, while also strengthening family connections.

When talking about goals with children, it’s helpful to keep them simple, positive, and age-appropriate. Instead of focusing on what they should “stop” doing, encourage goals that highlight growth, effort, and new habits. For younger children, goals might sound like “practice reading every night” or “use kind words with friends.” Older children may enjoy setting goals related to organization, friendships, learning new skills, or personal interests.

Many families find it meaningful to turn goal-setting into a fun tradition. We love setting goals as a family and creating a “bucket list” to go along with them. Each year, we write down things we hope to accomplish as well as places we’d like to visit and activities we want to experience together. Organizing the list into categories—such as learning goals, family activities, and adventures—makes it easier to track and revisit throughout the year. When planning weekends, holidays, or school breaks, we often look back at the list for inspiration and ideas, which keeps our goals active and exciting.

Make goal-setting a conversation rather than a lecture. Ask children what they are proud of from the past year and what they would like to work on next. This helps them feel ownership over their goals and teaches valuable reflection skills. Writing goals down, drawing pictures, or creating a visual chart can make the process engaging for all ages.

It’s also important to remind children that goals are flexible. Setbacks are a natural part of learning, not failure. Celebrate effort and progress along the way, no matter how small, and check in regularly to see how things are going.

Most importantly, model goal-setting as adults. When children see caregivers setting realistic goals and talking openly about challenges and successes, they learn that growth is a lifelong process. By welcoming the new year with shared goals and meaningful traditions, families can start the year feeling connected, hopeful, and ready to grow together.