“Mommy, I want to tell you something that’s a little weird.”

Hesitantly, I answered, “Um, ooook, go ahead.”

“I made a promise to myself.”

I immediately thought that she was probably talking about goals, but I asked her for more information to be sure.

“I made a pinky promise to myself that I would eat this chicken all the way to the bone,” she said holding up the drumstick in her hand. It’s important to note that she is not a big fan of meat, in general, and has hardly ever eaten an entire piece of chicken (she usually picks at it). So, this was a big deal, and she knew it.

I proceeded to explain to her that this was, in fact, not so weird. I told her what a goal was and how it’s sort of the same thing as making a promise to yourself. “You’re telling yourself you want to do something, or work toward something. That’s almost like making yourself a promise to do something.”

Her eyes opened wide as she realized I was describing what she’d done. She had just learned the meaning of setting a goal for herself. I loved the fact that she came about it on her own; it certainly made the concept that much easier to explain.

Do your kids know what a goal is? How did you explain the idea of goals to them?

Photo: Kayla