If 2024 were to be the best year yet between you and your children, what would that look like? What could be done in the day-to-day family life that will bring more connection, joy, love, laughter, and peace into the home? Let’s get creative and think differently! Explore the idea with me of making a resolution that will impact your family for years to come. 

Personally, I want a family future filled with connection, joy, laughter, love, and peace. If I want this, I know I have to take the first steps in modeling and teaching my children what that looks like, feels like, and sounds like. 

When I think of what the future could hold for my family, I tend to think about the family atmosphere. What will we laugh about, what will my kids remember, what games might we play? How can I help point my family in the direction of making memories together? 

What do you dream for you and your family? What hopes and visions do you have for your relationship with your children, teens, or adult children this next year and beyond? 

Are there mini-traditions you could begin to increase connection and communication? Popping your head into their bedroom to say hi, or share a joke or meme? Do you have Taco Tuesdays and eat together at the table to catch up with each other’s lives and share that quality time?

Where can you make life a little more fun? Do you take a card game to play together when out to eat and waiting for the food? How can you show and give love as you engage with your children? Are stories read on the couch, in the bedroom, or the blanket fort you helped them build under the table? 

You know your children and teens better than you realize. Think about the ways they connect with you and others most naturally. What does that connection look like and how can you use that insider knowledge to your advantage when planning activities for the family?

As you plan for 2024, give yourself permission to get creative. Think about the areas in your family life where you can make small, lasting impacts on your family. Decide what you can do in day-to-day life to make 2024 the best year yet with your family!

Trisha Lightfoot is the Training and Implementation Coordinator for Triple P Elkhart County. She and her husband are proud parents of two young men. Learn more about the Positive Parenting Program in Elkhart County at TriplePElkhartCounty.org.