4 Tips to Setting Effective Family Goals

Research has shown that boys and girls grow up with the best chance of succeeding in life when they have two loving, caring parents. Certainly, a single parent raising children can do a wonderful job as well for some. Nonetheless, it's extremely vital to learn how to set effective family goals.



In many respects, how your family operates is representative of how your life operates. Do you want your children to greet you enthusiastically when they come back from visiting friends or participating in some after-school activity? If they don't regularly do this, you might want to set a goal of greeting them daily at some other interval with open arms when you return from work.

Below are 5 tips to setting effective family goals:

Setting Effective Family Goals Tip #1: Applaud accomplishments

If your child comes home from school with an A on a spelling test or a piece of artwork he/she is particularly proud of, seize the moment. Pick up the item, look it over carefully, ask questions about it and show interest. 

Setting Effective Family Goals Tip #2: Bring them into your discussions

By bringing all family members into your discussions, including your children will help to show that you respect them on the interpersonal level. You're implying that your children are full-fledged human beings, even if they are smaller than you, and that they have opinions and observations that count.

Setting Effective Family Goals Tip #3: Communicating Effectively

When you boil down to the elements of a successful family, besides love, the most crucial element is effective communication. Without it, you and your family could be in for years of misunderstandings, hurt feelings and even alienation from one another.

When it comes to dealing with your spouse, a growing body of evidence suggests that to be effective, you need to connect with your spouse so that he or she believes you're on his or her side. In other words, achieving the outcome you want often involves helping your spouse achieve the outcome he or she wants.

Setting Effective Family Goals Tip #4: Uncover expectations

In every relationship, there are bound to be roles, responsibilities and expectations to be undertaken. To avoid the conflicts that result from unequal expectations, write down the specific expectations of each person. If those expectations are agreed on, conflict resolution becomes fairly simple compared to continuing in the same old way and falling into the same old arguments.
Setting Effective Family Goals Tip #5: Uplift each other

Sometimes when things don't seem to be going so well, do not be discouraged but continue to celebrate what you do have, be it good health, a good home, or simply each other. Always uplift each other.