Families For Life | 5 new skills for your kids to learn in 2026
The new year is here! New beginnings call for reflection and a look back at our accomplishments as we prepare to tackle the challenges ahead. This is also a wonderful chance to pause with your child and make space for conversations about growth, gratitude, and the lessons we can learn from life.
These simple moments for reflection can spark opportunities for learning, setting the foundation for healthy habits and values that will stay with your child for years to come. Let’s take a look at five different skills to teach your child as you greet the new year together!
The Art of Setting Goals
A new year calls for new year’s resolutions to be written! As you and your family think about what you want to achieve this year, you can teach your little one about the importance of setting goals and how they can go about achieving them.
Setting goals is a valuable skill that can motivate your little one to be ambitious and forward-thinking. Clear goals can also act as progress markers, bringing them closer to their dreams.
Here are some guiding questions you can ask your child as they set goals for the new year:
What is something you’d like to get better at?
What is something you’d like to do more often with family or at school?
What healthy habit do you want to try building this year?
If you could choose one “challenge” for this year, what would it be?
Is there something new you’d like to try this year?
These questions can be a great starting point as you help your child turn their interests and dreams into concrete steps towards their growth!
Lessons on Resilience
As adults, we know that failure is part and parcel of our lives. For children, a setback can be a new life experience that some may struggle to deal with. That’s why we need to teach our little ones the importance of being resilient! Understanding that it’s okay to make mistakes, learn from them, and finding the strength to keep moving forward – these are skills our children need to grow into their best selves. A resilient child can also handle stress better and become an independent learner.
As you look back on the year and reflect on missed goals or failed tests, take the chance to teach your child about resilience, and let them know that it’s okay.
Learning about Gratitude
The new year is also a time to be grateful for the people who’ve been there for us through thick and thin. Often, these people are our loved ones – parents, children, grandparents, and our friends. Understanding gratitude can help your child feel more satisfied with their life and develop a healthier emotional well-being.
Try asking your child these questions to help them find and express gratitude for the things and people in their lives:
Can you name two people who helped you the most last year?
What made you the happiest last year?
What was the best thing you experienced last year?
Is there something in your life you feel lucky to have?
What was the nicest thing someone did for you last year?
Try talking about these questions with answers of your own as you discover gratitude together with your child. After all, a child learns best when their parents model the behaviour!
Developing Positive Thinking
Like resilience, developing a can-do attitude can help your child keep moving forward. Positive thinking also helps build confidence and encourages problem-solving skills, as enthusiastic children are less likely to give up after some failed attempts. You can teach your child the importance of thinking positively as they look towards the new year. Help them feel excited about new experiences, challenges, and learning opportunities that await them!
Understanding Self-discipline
Setting goals is an important skill to learn, but so is the discipline needed to follow through! Self-discipline helps your child develop self-control, stay focused on their goals, and be responsible for their choices and actions. As you set your goals for the year together, help them set time limits and encourage them to do their best to meet them within the time frame they set for themselves!
With these five lessons, you can greet the new year in a meaningful way with your little one. Let’s celebrate another year with loved ones and spend time together sharing memories and expressing gratitude as you look to the new year with your family. Have a happy new year!