Welcome back! If you read the previous post you know we are talking about setting up your favorite little person’s 2020 year for success. So let’s dive right back into it! In part 1 we discussed all things school goals. But there are other areas that your child can work on and should do so as 2020 gets into full swing. The next area that should receive some attention is, you guessed it… behavior goals!
This may seem daunting, especially with toddlers and preschoolers, but that’s also why it’s the perfect time to help them tackle these big issues.
*Behavior Goals
Real life strategic planning is quite important during this time. As your child moves through their 2s and 3s, you’ll see how their personality grows, temperament may change, and overall demeanor can shift. This is completely typical as they are kind of coming into their own, however it can require you to do a little extra work on your end. Let’s look at some examples.
1. Morning and Evening Routine
This is an extremely necessary area to make consistent if you want a smooth beginning and end to your day and your child’s day. As we have previously discussed, it is crucial to have your child on a consistent schedule so as to provide a level of comfortable structure. Again, children do much better when they know what to expect and thrive on daily routines.
Therefore, if your child is still pushing back against having a specific morning and evening routine, the new year is the perfect time to try and get it back on track. Get them excited for the new routine, practice it consistently, and before you know it, it will become second nature and your beginning and end of day transitions will be endlessly smooth.
You can also check out this post on setting up a positive evening routine here!
2. Family Outings and Events
Another area that could use some goal setting is working on positive public behavior when outside of the home. Your child should already be learning normative responses through their daily social interactions at school, on playdates, and in extracurriculars. Socialization is a key factor in preschool curriculum, so this skill should already be a focal point. However, with differing environments it can get a little tricky.
The goal would be for your child to repeat the appropriate learned behaviors from their school and replicate them across other contexts. Meaning, if you’re family is at a restaurant, your child knows to stay in their chair, eat at the table, keep a leveled indoor voice, and take part in regular social activity.
Perhaps if you’re at the park, you can expect your child to use an appropriate outside voice, run around confidently, but not walk up to strangers, run away from you intentionally, or grab or be physical with another peer. In addition, one of the biggest hurdles is being able to leave the park calmly and without any meltdowns. Now, of course this is easier said than down, but that’s why we make a goal! Something to work towards.
Again, consistency is key. You should expect the same behavior at outings as they have in school. If you remain consistent with language, boundaries, and routines, then your child will be able to achieve this goal much quicker.
3. Screen Time
One of the most important areas in which to create a goal for your child would be to minimize screen time. This would actually be beneficial for all persons, but it is particularly significant when discussing the effects on children.
There is a popular saying that children’s brains are like sponges. This is no joke. The amount that children take in in their formative years (birth through 3yrs) way surpasses what we are able to learn as adults. Therefore during their most creative and knowledge seeking growth periods, it would be detrimental to fill that time with tv, iPads, movies, and games. There have also been studies that show the correlation between the increase in screen time with an increase in ADD and ADHD diagnoses. The stimuli is too high, too constant, too electric that it is basically keeping their internal receptors running at 150% twenty four seven. Specifically children’s shows have an enormous amount of colors, sounds, constant music, running, etc. and some even have 3D formats now as well.
We can get into a deeper dive on screen time in another post. But for this new years goal, your child should learn to thrive and play with more hands on organic items. Things such as puzzles, building blocks, coloring, play dough, trains, books, etc. Real life items that allow for more discovery and learning anyway.
Ideally, try and limit screen time to half hour if possible. If that seems too daunting then begin with just an hour a day and then move down.
*Outliers
There are a few events that can take place each year that are kind of outliers and really depend on what you, the parent, have going on in your personal calendar. Things that kind of just pop up. Now these are not included in the general template but can be added if they do happen to occur. Such occasions can include if you want to begin potty-training, if you move, if a new baby happens to come along etc. You see what I mean.
With these specific events, just like we did with the more typical ones above, it would be beneficial to create a goal, something your child can work towards with a plan. Now, we’re not going to get into everything in this post, but here is an overall outlined goal strategy for life style changes…
Goal 1: Have your child become comfortable with the idea.
Discuss the event a ridiculous number of times with your child to the point of exhaustion.
Goal 2: Your child becomes physically comfortable with the upcoming change.
Physically walk them through the changes if possible. For potty-training have them explore the bathroom, if you’re moving take them past the new house, if a baby is coming schedule playdates with friends who have babies, etc.
Goal 3: The life style change occurs, the make it through with minimal
Melt downs are inevitable. They are going to occur regardless because your child is still learning to communicate and still learning to regulate their emotions. Therefore meltdowns will come. However, the goal is to lessen the frequency so that both parties (you and your kid) can have an amicable resolution at the end.
*Summary
There you have it friends, a 2020 year of success outlined for your kiddos. Let’s review it one more time:
School Goals:
1.They continue to excel in school through consistent practice at home as well.
2.They foster friendships through playdates.
3.They participate in extracurricular classes confidently and socialize freely.
4.They participate in summer camp and continue to strengthen their overall skills and prepare for the upcoming school year in September.
Behavior Goals:
1.They follow a consistent morning and evening routine with little to no push back.
2.The display appropriate behavior during outings and events.
3.They are agreeable with minimal screen time and find more fun in real life playful learning.
The great thing is that this list is transferable year after year. So even if you don’t do everything this year, there is always time next year as well. Sometimes it may be easier just to tackle 1 or 2 from each section rather than take on the whole list and that is wonderful as well. The point is, if you want to setup your child for success, you need to plan for it just as you would for yourself.
If you have any questions, comments, or ideas please share them in the comments section below with your fellow parents! And definitely subscribe to the newsletter for updates and ongoing happenings at TylekTeaches.com. The subscription link is just on the right hand side of this post. See you there!
[…] We’ve run out of space here parents, but do not fret! The next post will discuss 3 more new years goals and list some more strategies for overall success for your child’s 2020. Make sure to visit part 2 of this post next, or just click here! […]