New Years Reflection for Nannies and Parents
All around us in the new year folks are making resolutions. To eat better, to start exercising, to be more patient with the kids. And honestly, most of us could use a little more of these things in our lives. But what if instead of the regular resolutions, we used this time to celebrate what went well this past year. What if we chose to focus on the good instead of what we need to do better?
When I was a part of a nanny team, one of the most beneficial things we did was set aside time to reflect on the past year and anticipate upcoming projects and potential challenges. We would sit together and delight in how the kids we cared for had surprised us, grown up, and shown courage in the previous year. We’d pat ourselves on the back for coming through challenges as a group, working through awkward team dynamics, miscommunications, and missteps. We’d take a collective deep breath and say: we did it, let’s go back in and do it again. Reflecting on what we’d come through allowed us to remember the bigger purpose behind the daily and sometimes tedious tasks of caregiving. It invited us to recall our common goal: to help raise thoughtful, kind, and curious kids.
As a parent, I try to do this now. To pull up a chair next to my spouse and ask what went well this past year? And what might this coming year hold?
If you are wanting more from your role as a nanny or parent, create time for your own recalibration. Whether you reflect alone or as a part of a parenting team, recalling the good of this past year and anticipating what is coming ahead will bring you more focus and connection. Consider this your invitation to make a pot of tea, grab something to write with and remember.
Here are questions to guide you:
How have the kids changed this past year?
What needs to be celebrated? What went well?
In what ways did the kids surprise you?
What challenges did you make it through?
What is one memory with the kids from the past year that you are holding onto?
What are you anticipating in the coming year (potential challenges, changes, trips)?
Wishing you a healthy 2023.
