Our Best Tips for a Mentally Healthy New Year

This time of year presents an opportunity for us all to try to do better. Ask yourself… how would I like 2024 to go differently than 2023? How can I get there? And would therapy help?

We asked our expert Child and Family Therapists what New Year’s resolutions really make a difference. Here’s what they said.

We see more than 50 families every week in our practice. And when we ask you about your hopes, there are common themes. You want to spend more time together (without fighting). You hope your children will listen more or learn a new skill. And more hugs and thank yous would be nice, too. We’ve compiled a list of possible resolutions to get you closer to your family goals this year.

Asking Your Teen or Tween for a Behavior Change this Year

If you’re like us, you’re really hoping your teen makes some New Year’s resolutions. To put down their phone. To keep up with assignments. Or to be nicer to their family.

If there’s something you’d like your teen to do differently, go ahead and ask. Decide what the expectation is (no phones at the dinner table? a daily check in about assignments?) and communicate it. We recommend doing this with a “launching conversation.” Learn more about launching conversations in this video about setting rules, limits, and boundaries. (You’ll have to enter your contact info to watch it, but that won’t add you to our mailing list.)

Next, you’ll have to be ready to enforce the expectation you’ve set. That means preparing to respond when the rule is broken. Find examples of these conversations in the presentation linked above, or in this post about responding to teen misbehavior.

If you think your teen might need additional support in order to make a change, we’re here to help. Start with this post on getting your teen to go to therapy.

New Year’s Resolutions for Family Growth and Healing

These ideas from our therapists can help you reach your family’s goals in 2024. They’re based on what parents, children, and partners have told us they want most. Don’t try to do them all. Just pick one or two.

Strengthen the parent-child connection

• Teach your child something you enjoy doing (baking cookies, yoga, playing an instrument, etc.)

• Snuggle!!!

• Give second chances.

• Create together (art, music, plays, games)

• Put away your phone.

Create mutual respect between siblings with these sibling resolutions

Have siblings ask one another for something from this list, or generate ideas of what they could do to be the best brother/sister/sibling.

• Don’t call me names.

• Ask before you take my stuff.

• Let me have a turn.

• Knock before you come into my room.

• Be quieter in the morning so I can keep sleeping.

Strengthen your own mental health

Your partners and kids often want this more than anything else: a mentally healthy YOU. Here’s how you might get there.

• Ask for what you need. Be specific.

• Make time every day to seek joy.

• Move your body more. Stretch, take a walk, swim, or dance.

• Give therapy a try.

Connect differently with your partner

Make one of these your goal in your next interaction with your partner.

• Give the benefit of the doubt.

• Listen without trying to fix it.

• Touch more or make more eye contact.

• Seek understanding, not resolution.

Find more about giving these changes as a holiday gift or New Year’s resolution in this post.

To receive tips like these in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter. To read more on this topic, check out our post on making your New Year’s resolutions stick.