I do. I love it! I write goals and intentions throughout the year too.

This year we’re writing them down as a family activity, just for fun. We are writing goals for 2010 as well as this next decade. I like setting goals for myself and I am really excited to envision and plan for the next decade.

A part of the plan will have to consider the stages of my kids along the way. In ten years, I will have two adolescents (15 and 12 yrs old!). This realization at once brings uncertainty and direction to the plans.

It reminds me that my parenting needs to keep the long-range vision. In addition to addressing the crisis du jour, I also need to guide my kids’ development into becoming resilient, thoughtful, compassionate, generous, and resourceful adolescents and adults.

This wholistic vision of parenting is among the top of my New Decade’s Resolutions. I will be asking myself,  ”Are my actions, choices, reactions, and guidance serving my children well today AND 10 years from now AND 20 years from now?”

If you are also eager to join me in parenting the whole child, not just today’s child, then you might enjoy the free course that I am offering on Mindful Parenting.

In the meantime, I found this list by Michelle Horton at Babble and thought you might enjoy it.

25 New Year’s Resolutions Every Parent Should Make

1. Live for your family.
2. Accept who your children are.
3. Nurture your partnership.
4. Release control.
5. Limit the stress in our children’s lives.
6. Be a good role model.
7. Eat healthy.
8. Exercise.
9. Assign guardianship, if you haven’t already.
10. Find “me” time.
11. Plan a vacation.
12. Practice a non-plastic lifestyle.
13. Let kids be kids.
14. Stop judging other parents.
15. Stop worrying about every. little. thing.
16. It’s the small things that matter.
17. Organize clutter…
18. …but let the dishes pile up every now and then.
19. Give your home a green makeover.
20. Go on, let it out.
21. Don’t beat yourself up over organics.
22. Do more home cooking.
23. Show appreciation for our parents.
24. Read with your children. For fun.
25. Teach your kids money management skills.

Which ones will you make? Are you making one year or ten year resolutions? Or both?

Below are two of my resolutions for 2010:

1. Increase our family vacations by 100%.
2. I will work harder than ever and create exceptional parenting courses for you and other fellow parents working hard to become better parents.

The author, Katie Allison Granju, articulates the dichotomy of modern day parenting (between intentional, conscientious parenting and intensive, hyper-parenting) very astutely. I find it provocative for a number of reasons.  It speaks to me personally, as a child educator and advocate. While I believe and write about thoughtful and engaged parenting, I also believe children need to explore, test, and experience natural consequences to their choices. I strike a balance that seems to be unexpected, and therefore often misinterpreted, that’s passionate about children and their development but not obsessed with my child’s every step and stumble.

Similarly, Granju says, “I have often described my parenting philosophy as ‘benign neglect.’ Responsive parenting means just that: we respond to children’s needs. It’s not the same as over-parenting, in which we anticipate, preempt, or take control of our children’s needs and developmental tasks.”

Granju’s article is both thoughtful and current. It touches on a personal process to which all parents can relate. Its relevance is broad and entangled in the whole parenting package, including the torturous school choice.  This is the “hot” conversation in our area these days as magnet and charter school applications are imminently due. I am struck by how shaken many parents seem as they navigate where to give up control of their child’s otherwise completely controlled environment.  It literally rattles their cages.

School is a very important issue and one that should be taken seriously. So, take it seriously — talk to other parents, go to PTA meetings, visit, observe, drop-in and then make a decision and TRUST your child’s ability to succeed.  It is your trust, after all, that allows your child to feel empowered and trustworthy.

This article, The Over Parenting Crisis, highlights the importance of seeing the world through your child’s eyes. The more I understand my child and follow her zing, the more context I have through which to view the larger picture and trust my child’s ability to flourish. “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating,” said Kofi Annan. Commit and liberate yourself  to macro-manage and watch your children flourish independently of you.