Ah, the New Year’s Resolution—easy enough to think up when you want to make a self-improvement or two, but also easy enough to willfully forget come February. Instead, commit as a family to resolutions you’ll have fun sticking to all year long for your goals on and offline. Read on for five ideas that all have something in common: more time together.
photo: Simon Rae via Unsplash
1. Move and groove.
Want to make 2020 a year for getting out and about? That can mean scaling hillsides with mini trekkers or simple strolls around the block to explore the wonder right beneath little feet. However you get outside, there is so much value in fresh air and time together. A motivational dance party during meal prep sure counts too. Small or big, healthy choices add up to good moves and good moods!
photo: Courtesy of Google Kids & Families
2. Work on a healthy digital lifestyle.
Healthy choices should factor into digital diets as well. Have “the tech talk” with your family and talk about what will work best in your home. Google has products and programs that can really help your family make the most of technology. With the Family Link app, you’ll get a suite of parental controls to help you set digital ground rules for your family. With the app, you’ll be able to set up screen limits on your child’s Android or Chromebook devices, remotely approve or decline app purchases, set app time limits, hide apps on devices, curate a set of safe sites and set filters that block certain sites altogether. Keep the conversation around a healthy digital lifestyle going with learning about digital safety and citizenship with the Be Internet Awesome program. Use the family guide and tips to guide your conversations about online safety and play the educational game Interland to help keep tech smarts on point for the whole family.
photo: Samantha Hurley via Burst
3. Get more zzz’s.
Whether we as parents want a little more patience at the end of a long day or for kids’ budding brains to have the best opportunity to absorb all they learn at school—sleep is key. So why not go after more of it in 2020? The Family Link app from Google can also help here, with the ability to set bedtimes as well as a daily limit per device or app for each day of the week. Once that time is up, the Android or Chromebook device in use locks (aside from making calls). Added tip: the screen time features also works anytime you need—not just at bedtime.You can also grant bonus times or remotely lock your child’s devices too!
photo: Anna Earl via Unsplash
4. Give back.
Have a family talk about the importance of giving back. You can decide on one cause to support all year long by raising money, lending helping hands and spreading awareness. Or, try out a few different organizations to learn more about the populations or needs they serve. If a friend or family member is already dedicated to a cause, that’s also a wonderful way to double-down on supportive efforts. No matter how you go about it, the kids will experience the power of working together for a greater good.
photo: Mi Pham via Unsplash
5. Have fun!
However you want to get in touch with your adventurous sprits, resolve to create some serious family fun. Let everyone in the family add to the bucket list too. Kick off a year of adventure with some of these ideas: explore a new local destination, take a family cooking class, visit a friend or relative you haven’t seen in a while, picnic or camp out in the backyard, try a new sport, run through the sprinklers, take that hike you’ve been meaning to, get to know a neighbor. Whatever resonates, make this the year it happens!
— Jennifer Massoni Pardini
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