GUEST POST: The New Year’s Resolutions I really will keep

“New Year’s Eve is traditionally a time to make resolutions. Resolution making, however, is not just an annual event for me. I make resolutions all throughout the year, suggesting I’m either fantastically in need of improvement, or that I don’t keep any of them.

I make weekly resolutions (“Right, from next Monday I’m going to give up chocolate”), daily resolutions (“Okay, so I’ll just finish off this last jar of Nutella and then from tomorrow, absolutely no more”), even hourly resolutions (“I will definitely get off the couch at three”). Still, my New Year’s resolutions are the most significant.

This year, I have eight:

1.    Be A Better Parent – Part A: Stop yelling at my children: I try extremely hard to cultivate an atmosphere of serenity and calm in my household. Truly. However, with three children – including Most Stubborn Boy In World and Mad-As-Cut-Snake Toddler, I do tend to raise my voice on occasion (using ‘on occasion’ in the sense of ‘all the time’). However, from next year, I plan for this all to change. Next year, when my son refuses to get dressed in the morning, or the toddler paints an entire wall in Nutella. I’ll use other, more peaceful tactics. Discussion. Reasoning. Negotiation. You know. Things that will have about as much impact on their behaviour as a vigorous interpretive dance.

2.    Stop yelling at my husband. Whilst I try very hard to cultivate a relationship with my spouse of tranquil, mutually enriching co-existence, I do tend to occasionally raise my voice to him, too. Happily, this only happens when I am exceedingly provoked. Unhappily, I am usually exceedingly provoked at least once every evening. But I will try. Truly. Getting a less provoking husband would be helpful too…..

3.    Be Less Judgemental. I have been criticised by my husband, friends and family for being a little too judgemental. Well quite frankly, that seems to me to be a fairly judgemental thing for them to say. Still, I will aim to be a little less judgemental in the future. And if people could assist by having less… you know…. faults…. well, that would be greatly appreciated.

4.    Eat Less Chocolate. Ha! Actually I have no intention of sticking to that one at all.

5.    Be A Better Parent – Part B: Stop Using The TV As A Babysitter. Too much TV makes kids passive, aggressive and obese (or is that passive-aggressive and obese?). Therefore, from this day forward I will keep my kids’ television watching down to a maximum of one hour of television a day. Two hours if they’re not well or if I’m really frazzled. And three hours only in utter emergencies (like when something terribly exciting is happening on Twitter).

6.    Exercise More. I desperately need to exercise more (using ‘more’ in the sense of ‘fullstop’). And I can no longer convince myself that doing the laundry or energetically making kids’ lunches counts as ‘exercise’. So this year, I shall embark on an exercise program. Walk. Swim. Run up and down my stairs in confusion. The odd ineffectual but vigorous interpretive dance…..

7.    Be A Better Parent – Part C: Stop Making The Kids Address Me As ‘Oh Beautiful Mummy’. Not that I think it bothers them, but I am getting funny looks in the supermarket.”

8.    Stop Waking My Husband In The Middle Of The Night And Asking Him To…. No, scrap that. He just told me he likes it.

[You can read Kerri’s blog here or follow her on Twitter here.]

What do you plan to do differently in 2010?