Making Healthy and Realistic Resolutions

Erin Bridgewater, M.D., a pediatrician at Cook Children’s Pediatrics in Celina, advises making resolutions specific and easy to track. “Instead of ‘Spend more time with grandparents,’ aim for ‘Spend one afternoon a month with them,’” Dr. Bridgewater said.

Cook Children’s psychiatrist Akemi Watkins, M.D. emphasizes that kids should choose goals based on their own values. To help them identify those values, ask questions like:

• What kind of person do you most want to be?
• What did you do last year that went well for you?
• What kinds of new things do you want to learn this year?
• How would you like to help others this year?

After identifying their values, children can create more attainable resolutions by following the SMART framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Remember to keep resolutions fun and meaningful!

“Focus on activities that foster a sense of purpose and joy,” Dr. Watkins recommended. “If your child likes reading, set a goal to read one new book per month.”

Working Together

Making resolutions as a family can boost motivation, create bonding experiences and teach kids commitment. Dr. Watkins suggests activities like weekly game nights, cooking together or having phone-free dinners.

To stay on track, writing down resolutions and keeping them visible in places like on the refrigerator or a family calendar can be helpful.

Setbacks are normal. Instead of focusing on not meeting a goal, encourage do-overs and celebrate successes.

“As the year progresses, check in with your child regularly about their progress without judgement,” Dr. Watkins said. “It’s working toward the resolution and not just the achievement where children can learn valuable lessons.”

Making Mental Health a Priority

Our mental health significantly impacts how we process information, make decisions, and interact with others. Prioritizing mental health can help families build resilience and manage challenges.

Here are some ways to promote mental well-being in your family:

• Build strong support systems
• Eat healthy and exercise
• Practice mindfulness and meditation
• Learn and use coping strategies to manage stress
• Reduce screen time
• Get enough sleep
• Practice self-care and compassion 

If you or your child are reaching a health crisis, don’t wait to get help.

“The critical first step for dealing with mental health issues is asking for help or giving help when asked,” Dr. Bridgewater said.

Mental health professionals are available with Cook Children’s Behavioral Health and the National Institute of Health Suicide Prevention provides resources and education.

For immediate assistance, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Staying Motivated

Staying motivated is a challenge many people experience when creating long-term goals. Having a roadmap and celebrating achievements along the way can build confidence and make goals more realistic.

“There’s an old adage ‘A goal without a plan is a wish,’” Dr. Bridgewater said. “If you have a big goal or one that stretches out far into the future, break it into pieces that are achievable in the short term and build toward the ultimate goal.”

Beyond traditional goal setting, some families embrace a more holistic approach to New Year's resolutions. Instead of focusing on specific achievements or plans, they select an intention or a guiding word for the year. This word then serves as a compass, influencing their daily choices and shaping their overall experience.

“Intentions are present-focused mottos that guide you toward your goal,” Dr. Watkins said. “Simple, sometimes one-word intentions that provide a clear theme for the upcoming year like self-love, change and patience.”

Showing these words in places where everyone can see them can help families stay motivated and keep the words top of mind when making decisions. You never know how one thought, deed or action can create a ripple effect in your life and in the lives of those around you now or in the future!

More than 1.5 million people visited checkupnewsroom.com. We thought we would take a look back at our most popular stories written in 2018. Let's start the countdown:

10. Couple Fights To Give Child Abuse Victim, Foster Chlid Forever Home: We begin our countdown with one of the most heartwarming stories of the year. Read about a wonderful family, their fight to make baby Jett their own and the help Cook Children's provided them.

9. Let's Learn Something About Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease!: Leave it to Dr. Diane to make "Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease" interesting.  All of her "Let's Learn" About posts do well and this was no exception.

8. 5 Children Treated for Bath Drownings at Cook Children's in One Month: Sadly, we once again had to talk a lot about drownings in 2018. But we didn't just warn about the dangers of pools or lakes. In May of this year, we got an important message out: "Don't leave your child alone in the bathtub."

7. Father who nearly lost son to a Tide Pod reacts to ‘Tide Pod Challenge’: Remember the Tide Pod Challenge fad of 2018? One family did not think it was amusing. Chris and Heidi Slaydon know all too well the dangers of a child swallowing a laundry detergent pod.

6. What Is Guillain-Barré syndrome?: When we learned that Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick  had been diagnosed with this rare neurological disorder, it gave us a chance to talk about GBS. Cook Children's neurologists see between 6 to 10 cases per year.

5. 'Is it RSV?': By the end of November, 178 kids had tested positive for RSV. Here's a quick look at what respiratory syncytial virus is. 

4. Is That Blue Vein Across Your Child's Nose a Sugar Bug?/Here's What You Need to Know About Kanmushi and Sugar Bugs: Have you ever noticed a prominent blue vein across your child's nose? Our Doc Smitty wrote two posts about Sugar Bugs and they both made our Top 10.

3. Can Elderberry and Other 'Alternative' Medications Treat Colds and Flu?: We may have only scratched the surface in talking about Elderberry (look for more articles in 2019), but here's the first post we published on the topic. 

2. Is It Strep Throat or The Flu?: We published this helpful overview to distinguish whether it's strep or flu in January of 2018 and it stayed in our top 10 throughout the year on its way to the No. 2 spot. 

1. Juul, Other E-Cigarettes Called an 'Epidemic' by FDA Chief: With more than 75,000 views, this was our most read story we published this year. We reported on this topic a few times during the course of the year because new information came out about the dangers of e-cigarettes and kids. We talked to Don Wilson, M.D., an endocrinologist at Cook Children's, to learn more about this topic. 

That wraps up another great year. Thank you for reading. We will be back with much more in 2019 and drop us a line in the comments below for any articles you would like to see our experts discuss.

Multiple studies suggest that walking even 20 minutes daily can decrease your risk of mortality and improve your quality of life. Read how a busy working mom finds the time to exercise, and read her perspective on the many benefits of regular exercise. Come on moms out there! You can do it! If not for yourself, then for the long term health of your family.

New year. New you!

From Alison Groom:

Being a working mom of three small kiddos is a hard job for anyone, but finding the time to be healthy and active while being a working mom of three kiddos can be a tough job in itself. For me, finding the time to do something active can be hard and I am certainly not perfect at making it a daily priority, but I do my best to do it as much as possible throughout the week.

What I have recently noticed is that my kids watch and mimic every single thing I do. The way my 3 year old talks to her baby dolls is often a reflection of how I speak to her. The same goes for what I eat and how I live my life. Statistics say that if a parent smokes cigarettes, the children in the home will likely smoke as an adult too.

This is also the same for being active. If my children learn the fundamentals of being healthy and staying active as kids, they will likely continue that throughout the adolescent years and into their adult lives. My 7 year old has started wanting to exercise with me and will often ask to run on the treadmill when we are playing in the driveway. I keep our treadmill in the garage because it keeps me from having an excuse not to run.

I am a wimp when it is cold and I do not run when it is raining, so if it is in the garage, I have zero excuses for why I cannot run on a cold or rainy day. We often go for "family walks" after dinner too. We look like a circus sometimes with my 3 year old wanting in and then out of the stroller, the two giant dogs getting tangled leashes or tripping up my 6 year old, but it is family time. It is a time that we talk about our day, we teach our kids about nature and try to find interesting new things to discover. It is also a great time to talk about being healthy and about the benefits of walking and exercising for our growing bodies. It is exercise that allows us uninterrupted time with our precious kids, which is a win win if you ask me. J

Exercising does not have to take an hour to do. I work from home, so when I put my kids down for a nap, I hustle out to the garage to run on my treadmill. It may only be a 10 minute run, or a 20 minute fast paced walk.

Sometimes, I only have time to do a couple sets of pushup and sit ups, but that is better than nothing! A walk around the block can quickly turn into two laps around the block, and then to a mile and so on. Making a conscious effort to walk faster while grocery shopping can be a simple step toward elevating your heart rate and getting your metabolism up for the day. The hardest part about working out for me, is putting on my shoes. Once they are on, I am ready to go.

Make a decision for yourself and for those precious children who ARE watching your every move to be healthy. Take twenty minutes out of your day for you to have a moment for yourself. Exercising is also a GREAT way to release your tensions and anxieties of your day. I often take a moment to run or workout just to clear my head and have a moment to do ME for a minute. That can be so hard for people to do, but it is so beneficial. I promise, if you take twenty minutes to yourself each day, you WILL be a better mother, a better wife, and a better you. Look into different methods of exercise. Reach out to friends, neighbors, or family to see if anyone is also wanting to exercise but needs someone to hold them accountable. Having a partner to walk with around the neighborhood or do a workout video with when the kids go to bed is great! It gives you some time to interact with another adult, vent about your day, and also to be held accountable to doing your workout each day. Start with baby steps and find the right workout or activity for you. If you find pleasure in what you choose, you will likely stick with it.

Karen Evans, M.D., a pediatrician with Cook Children’s in Keller, says setting New Year’s resolutions is a healthy tradition no matter what your age and should ultimately be a family affair.

“Everyone in the family should create one or two resolutions focused on working toward a more healthy lifestyle,” Dr. Evans said. “Choose goals that will be attainable for the family as a whole.”

Starting the new year off by adopting a healthier lifestyle can be difficult. Dr. Evans suggests defining basic goals that can be realistically achieved and give the motivation needed to sustain permanent lifestyle changes.

Basic resolutions for the entire family may include:

• Eating meals at the table as a family at least four times a week.
• Preparing more meals at home.
• Limiting fast food and takeout.
• Packing lunches for school and work.
• Planting a garden.
• Going for a family bike ride, walk, swim or hike two times a week.

About the source

Karen Evans, M.D., is a Cook Children's pediatrician in Keller. Dr. Evans earned her medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. She completed her internship, residency and became the Chief Resident of Pediatrics at the Louisiana State University Health Science Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. She is board certified and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Evans' professional interests include childhood obesity and expanding health care access to underserved children.