Every January, parents across the country make bold, hopeful New Year’s resolutions. We will exercise more. We will eat better. We will drink more water. We will stop yelling about shoes not being put away.
And then our kids wake up.
Suddenly, it’s 6:12 a.m. Someone can’t find a sock they were holding thirty seconds ago, another child is asking what’s for dinner, and your grand vision of a calm morning meditation dissolves into cereal spilled on the floor and a dog barking at nothing. Welcome to January with kids.
But here’s the good news. You can actually keep your New Year’s resolutions with kids around. You have to adjust your expectations—a lot.
Make Smaller Resolutions Than You Think You Need
If your resolution is “work out every day for an hour,” congratulations. You have already failed. Try something more realistic, like “move my body in a way that does not involve stepping on Legos.”
Ten minutes count. Walking counts. Carrying a squirming child up the stairs absolutely counts. Parents are already doing CrossFit. We don’t call it that.
The same goes for eating better, sleeping more, or being more patient. Aim for better, not perfect. Progress lives in small wins.
Schedule Yourself Like You Schedule Your Kids
You know how your kid never forgets soccer practice, library day, or picture day because it’s written on three calendars and texted to you twice? Do that for yourself.
Put your resolution on the calendar. Literally, if you don’t block the time, it will be filled with something else, usually someone asking for a snack.
If your goal is to read more, schedule ten minutes before bed. If it’s exercise, schedule it like a dentist appointment. If it’s self-care, protect it like you would a birthday party with cake.
Lower the Bar on “Quiet”
Many parents believe they can’t work out, meditate, journal, or do anything meaningful unless the house is silent. This is a lie we tell ourselves.
Kids do not need to be asleep or invisible for you to keep a resolution. They need to be mildly occupied. A show, a book, a puzzle, or staring at the wall dramatically because you said no can all work.
You might not get total peace, but you can still do the thing. Life with kids is loud. Do it anyway.
Let Your Kids See You Trying
One of the sneaky benefits of sticking to resolutions with kids around is that they see it happening. They see you choosing water. They see you walking. They see you trying again after skipping a day.
You are modeling something meaningful, even if you’re doing pushups while negotiating bedtime.
You don’t have to announce it. Just let them see that adults set goals too, and sometimes mess them up, and keep going anyway.
Build in Grace for the Messy Days
Some days will not go as planned. Someone will get sick. A meeting will run late. The dog will throw up right when you are about to sit down, finally.
Those are not failures. Those are Tuesdays.
The key to keeping resolutions with kids is not consistency. It’s forgiveness. Miss a day and move on. Miss a week and start again. January is not ruined because you ate chicken nuggets off your kid’s plate.
Redefine What Success Looks Like
Success might mean exercising three times a week instead of seven. It might mean fewer drive-through meals, not zero. It might mean yelling less, not never.
That still counts. Actually, it counts a lot.
New Year’s resolutions do not need to be loud, dramatic, or Instagram-worthy. They need to fit into your real life, kids and all.
So make your resolutions. Keep them flexible. Laugh when they go sideways. And remember, if you’re trying to improve anything while raising kids, you’re already doing pretty great.
Even if you’re doing squats during a commercial break while holding a toddler.
