Today, I will be sharing 5 mental health resolutions for the new year to share with your child. The new year is a nice transitional period to support your child in making positive changes to their mental health.
I am hoping the holiday season has given you lots of time to recharge and reflect on your past experiences and goals for this year (I did those too), but I’m also aware that it has caused stress for many — having plenty of to-dos at the office and social obligations.
On the topic of stress, recently I had an interesting conversation with a 12-year-old who talked about his challenges in school, particularly “fitting in” and not letting negative peers “walk all over him.” I think this was relevant to share here, especially since we explored the topic of setting healthy boundaries as one of his New Year’s resolutions. I personally believe that learning to say no and not letting other people sway you from your values can go a long way in protecting your mental health this year!
We also discussed assertive communication techniques like maintaining eye contact and getting straight to the point, which can be helpful during tricky conversations with peers.
If these sound like something your clients or students would need, you are welcome to share them.
Before I go, here’s a reminder to start your 2024 on a positive note: Self-care isn’t selfish - it’s necessary! I’d like to leave you with 5 new year’s resolutions that support your child’s mental health.
New Year’s Resolutions that Support Good Mental Health
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Emotional Awareness. Practice naming emotions daily. Encourage your child to identify and label their feelings each day. A fun way to implement this is using a feelings chart or playing "emotion charades" during family time.
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Schedule Worry Time. Help your child set aside 15-20 minutes each day where they can talk about worries, write them down, or draw them out. This helps them learn that they can control when they worry. Check out our Worry Jar worksheet to support this resolution.
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Movement. Support your child in finding enjoyable physical activities they can do for at least 20 minutes each day. This doesn't need to be formal exercise—dancing in the living room, going on a family nature walk, or playing tag all count.
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Create a Calm Down Corner. Work with your child to designate a small, comfortable space with sensory tools for self-regulation (like fidget toys, glitter jars, or breathing cards). Teach your child to recognize when to take a break with our Feelings Thermometer handout.
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Daily Gratitude: Practice "three good things" before bedtime. Encourage your child to identify three positive moments at the end of each day, no matter how small. This simple gratitude practice helps kids develop a more positive mindset and improve sleep. Our My Gratitude Exercises worksheet supports this simple practice.
To further support your kids in taking care of themselves as they start the new year, feel free to share our recently published Self-Care for Kids YouTube video.
This article was originally published in our email newsletter on January 02, 2025.
