The first day of January often feels like a blank canvas to change your lifestyle. If you’ve been resolving to make the new year the best year for you and your family, then we’ve gathered some suggestions to help you along.
As you might have heard, only 8% of people keep their new year’s resolutions . So instead of resolutions, why not set goals to adopt healthier habits instead? While resolutions feel like big actions you take when your motivation is at an all-time high, habits feel like small tweaks or minor choices you make to your daily routines until they become automatic.
As usual, take what you need from our list of suggestions and leave the rest. As we say to children, there’s a little odd in everyone. It’s the same for our Oddbods parents, and we celebrate that.
Without further ado, let’s dive into it!
1. Nobody’s Perfect: Embrace Your Child For Their Oddities and Quirks ;)
Mums and dads who struggle with guilt for not becoming “perfect” parents–stop right now!. Parenting is a challenging journey that keeps making you question whether you’re a good mum or dad and whether serving breakfast cereal for dinner is permissible. (It is because we say so.)
One small habit that can be profound–think the 20% that makes up the 80% of your positive influence on your Oddstars–is to embrace your child for who they are. Parenting expert Dr Laura Markham says, “Kids who thrive are the ones who FEEL loved and cherished for exactly who they are.”
There can be moments when it’s hard to give unconditional love. Like when your child dips a cloth napkin into their soup. Or hits their younger sibling. Or resists bath time for the 38579th time this week.
But you can show your child that you love them unconditionally by saying things like “I love you no matter what” and “Just because I get angry with you doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I love you.”
Modern parenting feels like we need to give our kids a lot. At the end of the day, they just need to feel safe and loved. Photo by Kelly Sikkema.
The hard part is making this a consistent practice. Whenever you struggle with this, try to see things from your kids’ perspectives and empathise with them. It won’t be easy when you’re annoyed, but the longer we work at building this habit, the higher the chances that your children grow up happy and confident.
Also, read our post on 3 ways for parents to regulate their own emotions !
2. Be More Eco-friendly: Start Actioning to Lead a Sustainable Lifestyle
Living a greener lifestyle feels good because we’re sparing a thought for nature and wildlife when choosing sustainability over convenience. It means more when we appreciate that busy parents need convenience as much as our daily cups of coffee.
In the coming year, challenge yourself by adopting any of the following zero waste habits. You don’t have to do them all of the time; some of the time is admirable enough.
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Bring your own containers when ordering take-outs.
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Always bring your children’s water bottles instead of buying bottled water.
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Shop used baby gear, children’s clothes and toys from your local Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group.
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Choose plastic-free products , responsibly produced wooden toys or toys made of recycled plastic when expanding your child’s collection.
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Limit the number of children’s clothes and toys you bring into your home. Too many toys may result in many sitting around unused.
3. Advocate For Yourself: Hold Healthy Boundaries Without Apology
Mental health awareness is rising, which is excellent because self-care is essential to everyone, especially parents who face endless demands. We need to let down our permanent mum buns and do things that make us feel good whenever we can!
As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. In the new year, strive to keep your cup full and schedule breathers throughout your days. Once in a while, it’s okay to give your children extra TV time (Oddbods to the rescue!) while you prioritise your own needs without being interrupted by their requests.
Practise holding healthy boundaries for yourself by learning how to say “no” when you mean it. For instance:
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When a friend asks you for a play date during a packed week
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When a boss or co-worker pushes you to do something you don’t think is a good idea
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When your pile of laundry sits unwashed (Okay, just kidding, you do need to get around it, but maybe pop in a light-hearted audiobook while you’re at it.)
Keeping yourself happy and healthy will make it easier to enjoy your children. Photo by Xavier Mouton Photographie .
4. Get Movin’ More: Make Exercise Part of Your Family’s Routine
Letting kids get active is vital for their development. Plus, there’s a higher chance they’ll fall asleep more easily at bedtime, which we’ll admit is our favourite perk of all.
Make it a point to bring your kids to playgrounds more often, whether it’s after fetching them from school or over the weekends. Alternatively, go on family walks, cycle together or take a hike if you live near beautiful trails (lucky you!).
When trying to make a new habit of exercising, it’s important to figure out what type of exercise you enjoy most. This helps make the habit stick. Photo by Jonathan Borba.
For solo exercise, there are plenty of great fitness channels on YouTube with short workout videos for time-poor parents. Some of our favourite trainers to sweat with include Fitness Blender , POPSugar Fitness and BodyfitbyAmy.
Whenever we feel lazy to move, know that exercise does wonders to strengthen the heart, increase bone density and muscle mass, elevate our moods and sharpen our minds.
5. Eat A Little Healthier: Make Mealtime Smoother and Tastier For Your Family
Some of us always struggle with eating healthily. Maybe you don’t have the time to cook meals, doubt your kitchen talent, or feel demoralised that the number one fan of the healthy food you prep is your pet dog… we get it.
Serving healthy meals can feel like a tall order. Doing weekly meal preps will make it a lot easier. Photo by Rachel Park.
Here are some hacks to make meals more nutritious and peaceful for your family. This habit takes a lot of perseverance but will be worth it when our kids grow up healthy and strong.
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Make breakfast more healthy by offering eggs, whole-grain toast, granola with yoghurt, green smoothies or milk smoothies instead of breakfast cereals every day. Go for easy fruits to prep, such as bananas, blueberries and sliced apples.
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Add pureed vegetables into “treats”, such as pizzas and muffins. Visit our DIY popsicles recipes for more ideas.
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Offer your child small scoops of a new food you want them to try. For example, if it’s green peas, two or three peas on their plate are what you can aim for, instead of a spoonful of peas which might still seem too many to your kid.
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Go family-style with your food by putting food in serving dishes and letting your kids decide how much they want to eat. Take it up a notch by giving them a cute dinnerware set .
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Delegate small food prep tasks to your children so that they feel more invested in eating the meal they helped to cook.
We hope these ideas inspire you to start the new year on a high note. Bookmark this blog and revisit it whenever you feel yourself slipping away from minting new habits. We’re rooting for you from Oddbods HQ!
