I’m a firm believer of the home as the starting line of all good practices kids will eventually integrate throughout their lives. Aside from implementing a “routine” culture at our house, my kid and I set what we call faith goals every year. These are our personalized lists (one for each of us) of things we are believing God for. It can range from a breakthrough, a trip to a certain country, to a specific toy she keeps talking to every time we go to the toy store. These faith goals help us stay on track, in the directive and fruitful path where we’re supposed to be at a given life season.
One of the many basic habits we can establish in our household is goal setting. While it can be quite the challenge to have every member of the fam – especially younger children – to get on board with setting and achieving desired results, establishing a sense of commitment, improvement, and teamwork helps heaps in both character and relationship-building of parents and kiddos. Â Here are some ways you can start keeping your priorities straight with the people who are at the top of your list:
Ask questions.
It’s important to know which areas a family member wants to work on. The husband might be aiming for a more finance-related goal while your eldest is looking at a health route. The idea is to know the umbrella areas then sort the priorities from there.
As for our faith goals, anything that is needs-based, I don’t even think twice about setting up high on the list. However, for those that are can-make-do-without, we work it out as we go. Yes, I’m talking about you, Doc McStuffins playset that my daughter wants so badly.
Act on specifics.
From the main area for improvement, identify specific action items. From the example above, how can dad champion the family into saving? Can a family coin bank do the trick? How can kuya encourage the younger sibs into eating healthier? Does crafting a weekly family meal plan help achieve this? The more specific the goals, the more attainable.
When the little one added “happy heart” to our faith goals last year, some of our specific action items included sit-down talks, quality time, and monthly field trips. Since she’s quite a talker, a sucker for quiet moments with her Nanay, and a traveler, I figured that these action items keep her love tank full.
Aim for progress, not perfection.
The point of having goals is not ticking off items in our lists. It’s better to have the family understand that timelines per goal vary, and the achievement of one does not equal impossibility of some. Sure, dad’s coin bank project does not amount to the target yet, but there is development.
Some of our faith goals from last year spilled to our 2019 list, too – and that’s okay. It’s good to have our eyes set on something. It gets me moving thinking that we’re always a day closer to these goals.
Applaud achievements.
Any milestone should be a celebrated milestone. It doesn’t mean promoting mediocrity and incompletion though. The idea is to encourage each other to keep going at a goal until it is fulfilled. Kuya’s weekly meal plans are not always a hit, but hey, it got bunso eating fruits somehow. Cheers to that!
While my little girl is a work-in-progress when it comes to having her “happy heart,” I see to it that affirm her efforts toward contentment (still looking at you, Doc McStuffins playset) and reward it somehow.
Share with us some of your family goals this year and how you plan on working on them with your core group! 💪🏼
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