By ALETHEA PRICE

Community columnist

It’s still January, which means you still have time to make new year’s resolutions. Statistics show that you are more likely to keep up with a resolution or goal if you have a support system to back you up. Instead of making individual resolutions, why not make them as a family?

Celebrating a new year can be an exciting time of recounting past accomplishments, and establishing new goals. While it is important for each of us to identify personal goals, it is equally important to establish family goals. This year, I challenge you to establish some family resolutions that will challenge you as a family and increase your joy together. Here are just a few examples that you may want to adopt or modify this year for your family. 

• Exercise as a family once a week. I know it sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t have to be for hours on end. It could be a fun game of dodgeball or kickball in the backyard or in a nearby green space. Maybe it’s a family walk around the block or a nature trail near your home. Allow your children to be the leaders and play a game of “follow the leader” allowing them to decide how you walk.
• No screens. Maybe this year is the year to finally put into place the “no screens during mealtimes” rule. If you really want to go big, how about dedicating one night a week to no screens? After homework is done, screens are off and stay off. “What will we do?” you ask. Play a game, tell stories or talk to one another. You could participate in a community event such as free programming at the public library or community center.
• Take the day off. That’s right, everyone gets a day off.  As a family, you all take one day off during the week and do something fun together. Maybe a picnic lunch in the park, an afternoon movie, or a family bike ride. Pick something everyone will enjoy and make it happen. Take a day trip to the children’s museum or aquarium. Boyle County has lots of historical sites to visit right in our own backyard.
• Make an emergency plan. Chances are your kids are already learning at school the importance of having a safety plan in case of a house fire, tornado, or earthquake. Take the time to clearly identify just what you will do in your home if natural disasters strike. Make a plan and practice it annually. Check for parts of the plan that need clarification or revision. Always be prepared.
• Volunteer as a family. Think of ways you want to help others this year from volunteering your time at local organizations to making sandwiches for the less fortunate or making cards for patients at your local hospital. There are many ways to help others, so be creative. Soups on Us can always use volunteers to deliver meals on the weekends, especially on the 5th Saturday’s of the month. Grace Café is a great place to volunteer in a restaurant setting. The Blue Bird Market always needs volunteers to help out in the store. Meals on Wheels needs drivers and so does the Senior Center. They provide free rides to seniors in the county.

There are plenty of ways to make positive change in your family and community. Choose resolutions that benefit both. You’ll be glad you did.

 

For more information on living healthy lifestyles contact the Boyle County Extension Office or email me at a.price@uky.edu.