New Year, New You- 5 New Year’s Resolutions for WNY Parents

Welcome back! We hope that you’re having a wonderful holiday season with your families! Today on the blog we wanted to provide a little inspiration for the parents out there as we enter into the year 2025! For some of us parents, it’s almost unbelievable that it’s already 2025. The years fly by, but each year provides a fresh opportunity for a new beginning and a new way to live. Let’s get right into the 5 things that parents in WNY could be doing to help them get off to a great start this new year!

1. Teach your kid some life skills

2. Help your kid learn some independence

3. Show more interest in the little things

4. Attend a college planning seminar

5. Set a savings goal for college

Teach your kids form life skills

With all the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we tend to forget about helping our kids understand the most important life skills. Whether your kids are 10, 16, or 26 it’s never too late to help our kids learn valuable life skills with a helping hand so they don’t need to learn the hard way. 

If and when they go away to college, they’re going to need to know how to do some things themselves, and although YouTube is a great asset nowadays, teaching offers a great bonding moment. Help your kid ensure they know some of the most basic things, even if they don’t seem so basic. Consider things like grocery shopping, cooking, organizing, laundry, and even changing a tire. 

Help your kid learn some independence

Once they’re away at college, they’re going to need to take care of themselves or else they’ll be flunking out and back in their HS bedrooms in no time. Kids who attend college with some strong independent skills are much more likely to succeed. Ensure your student takes on more personal responsibility and accountability. Consider things like getting up on time on their own, or setting their own goals (or resolutions!) 

By helping them to set personal goals, predict outcomes, evaluate their personal experiences, and learn from success and mistakes, it allows them personal growth through independence that will be valuable in college. They won’t be able to have their parent looking over their shoulder once they’re in the dorms and classrooms! They will need to take personal accountability. 

Show more interest in the little things

Part of helping your kid learn more life skills and practice some independence may start with paying more attention to the little things in their lives. What are they studying in class? What are they up to? What do they take passion with? We are all so busy that it can be easy to just fall into a rigamarole and forget about what matters most. One thing we can do as parents in 2025 is just pay more attention and show more interest. 

Celebrate small successes, have deep conversations, and try to listen instead of criticize. Paying close attention and showing interest in your kid's life can have a profound effect on their confidence as they look forward to college. You’ll miss these days when they’re moved out of the house and onto being an adult! Enjoy it in 2025!

Attend a College Planning Seminar

Regardless of if your kid is moving to college next fall or just started kindergarten, it’s really never too early to start planning for college. Whether you choose to attend a seminar with us or another WNY college planning organization, it’s a great idea to start planning for college in 2025. 

Seminars offer a way to gain insight into some of the services and options you have locally but also help you gauge where you are and where you should be if you plan to help your student pay for college. They also can provide insights into the levels of paperwork and forms that you’ll need to get your kid ready to attend. Why not spend some time learning from college planning experts in 2025? It can only help you and your kid be better prepared in the future. 

Set a Savings Goal for College 

Anything helps when it comes to paying for your kid's college. Not all parents choose to help pay for college, but in our experience, it’s clear that if some parents knew some of the options they had to start a savings plan they would have started earlier. Looking at the cost of college can be intimidating for parents, and students won’t understand the magnitude of the cost until it's far too late, and they’re done with college and get their first student loan bill. This often creates tension and regret among families. 

One thing parents can do this January is just set a goal. Small or large, set a goal for how much they want to help contribute to their kids’ education. Remember, anything is better than nothing!

We hope these 5 little resolutions are helpful for you and your family this year! Remember, if you ever have a question about planning for college you can always reach out to us via phone or by our contact form. We wish you the best in 2025 and hope it's your student's best year yet!!!