New Year’s Traditions in Therapy

I love the excitement of New Year’s Eve, although as a parent, it’s been a minute since I’ve watched the ball drop at midnight!

That said, I especially love the feeling of starting fresh on January 1 in a new year.

Goals and resolutions can make a great topic of discussion with school-aged children and teens.

Below are some books about New Year’s Resolutions:

• Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution, by Pat Miller

• Happy New Year, Everywhere, by Arlene Erlbach

• The Night Before New Year’s, by Natasha Wing

For older children and teens, it can be fun to discuss some popular traditions around the world, such as:

• Eating 12 grapes consecutively at midnight in Spain (I’ve tried this–it’s pretty tough!)

• Smashing plates in Denmark

• Displaying round shapes for future prosperity in the Philippines

• Eating lentils in Mexico

After this discussion, the students can be asked if they have any fun New Year’s traditions in their families and/or cultures, as well as which of these traditions they’d most like to try. Then, students can share New Year’s resolutions if they would like.

Readers: What are your favorite New Year’s traditions? Do you make any resolutions?

About the Author: Melissa Goff, M.S, CCC-SLP, is the owner of Sunflower Speech & Myo Therapy, PLLC, in Charlotte, NC.