Every January, well-meaning families ask small children for resolutions — and accidentally teach the adult version of the trap: declare perfection, slip by February, conclude you're bad at goals. New years resolutions for kids can work, but only after flipping the frame from promising outcomes to celebrating attempts.
The Failure Festival review (do this first)
Borrow the ritual straight from Sparklo's Failure Festival (Zumblies Episode 9), where Zumbleton throws a party for flops — banners reading "Failure Means You're Trying!", booths for lessons learned, Sparklo proudly atop a staircase built from his crashed inventions.
On New Year's Day, hold the family version: everyone (parents first — this only works if adults go first and go honestly) shares their proudest failure of the old year and what it taught. "I tried the big slide and chickened out — but I climbed the whole ladder." "My tower fell nine times. I learned about wide bottoms." Applause for every entry. You've just taught the growth-mindset foundation — effort and learning over outcomes, the process-praise principle PBS Parents recommends year-round — in one funny dinner.
Then: "try" goals, not "be" goals
- ❌ "I will be good at swimming" (an outcome; quittable)
- ✅ "I will TRY the deep end three times" (an attempt count; completable by trying)
Kids' goals should be countable tries: try five new foods, try the monkey bars ten times, try reading one line aloud each week. Every try scores — including the failed ones. Especially the failed ones; those come with lessons attached.
The December payoff
Next New Year's, the festival reconvenes with a year of material. Kids who review annually learn the long arc: staircases are built one crash at a time.
The founding text: Season 1, 10 ebooks, $39 instead of $70.
Resolve less. Try more. 🎉