Have you ever thought about teaching your little ones about setting goals? I don’t think I ever really learned the value of goal setting until I became a missionary. I’m sure in my life up until that point, I had set goals and achieved them, but until my mission, I didn’t appreciate how setting goals can be life changing.
We decided to have a family home evening with our little ones on how to set goals. It was a VERY simple lesson. We have been working with our oldest daughter, who is almost 6, on encouraging her to stop sucking her thumb, and learning how to ride her bike without training wheels. With our three year old, he needs to work on potty training, and giving up his pacifier (which he uses at bedtime only).
We started FHE with defining goals. Then, we gave each child the option to choose what goal they wanted to work on. My daughter chose learning how to ride her bike, and my son chose working on giving up his pacifier.
We helped them think of a smaller goal that would help them reach that larger goal. For example, we had our daughter set a goal to practice her bike riding (with training wheels) every day that coming week. For our son, his goal was to wait until we left the room to put his pacifier in his mouth. This meant he had to not suck it during story time, prayers, and when we sat in the room with him before we left.
That week, we continued to encourage our children to keep up with their goals. Then, the following family home evening, we decided to have a “party” to celebrate what they accomplished. The party was not really a party, but rather a more laid back FHE where we just played, and had a fun treat afterward. We talked to them about how proud we were that they worked on their mini goals, and encouraged them to keep working on the bigger goals.
While neither of them have achieved the ultimate goals, I think it is never too early to teach your children how to set goals and make them happen. Having a family home evening on goal setting can be invaluable to children of all ages.
In the gospel, we set goals all the time. Sometimes without ever realizing it. Maybe we decide to read our scriptures more, or be a more faithful visiting teacher. I know for me, these goals are usually silent and come to me in quiet moments of inspiration during a lesson, or at church. But, it’s important to recognize the power behind goal setting and achieving our full potential. And, with this, I think we can never start too early.