This post first appeared on Momaha.com.

Many people have started their list of resolutions for the new year.

This year I challenge you to decide on a parenting resolution for 2015.

Whether you want to bring back the “joy of being a parent”, (minus the sarcasm) or you want to cut down on your list of ‘activities’ to find more family time, listing your goals is the first step. As with any challenge offered, I will go first.

1. Listen more
By 6 a.m. I have a long list that my son and I have to complete before we are out of the door. This 1.5 hours together is by far the most intense time in my home. I’m barking orders and listing reminders.

As I am rushing around like a crazy woman my son has, on average, about three different comments or questions that he has been quietly contemplating during his morning routine. Regardless of me neither having time or the ability to concentrate on his sharing, he absolutely has to share his contemplations with me before he goes to school.

Why this occurs every morning? I have no clue. Unfortunately, I am guilty of silencing him so I can try to keep up with my mental list.

For 2015, I resolve to listen to him more. One of the joys over the years has been listening to my son’s interesting thought processes as they have developed.

He currently is lingering somewhere between a fantasy world where he thinks it’s a possibility that maybe cartoons are real and a desire to keep up with current events. He is still a sweet little kid who is starting to figure out that there is an interesting world outside of his neighborhood and school.

What a shame it would be for me to miss out on hearing his perspective as he tries to figure out what all of this information means.

2. Take a risk
In the field of behavioral health, I get access to top parenting and child development research. With all of this information in such close proximity, at times, I have found myself overwhelmed with trying to find the “the right way” to parent.

For 2015, I resolve to take a risk and stop questioning if I am doing this parenting thing “right”. I will no longer compare myself to other mothers.

This year I will be willing to chance doing this parenting thing all wrong.

Parenting means answering some very hard questions in a very honest way when other parents are choosing to provide lighter, child-friendly answers.

It means requiring my child to quietly regain control of himself when he is crying hysterically over a decision that I made, while other parents might offer hugs, kisses and distractions.

It means making him responsible for chores that other kids may not have.

If at some time I make a choice in my parenting that is wrong, I will be willing to go back and apologize, admit that I made a poor choice and ask for forgiveness. Because just like him, momma is human and will not get it right every time.

However, he can bet big money that I am trying my best to parent him, and give him what he needs to thrive through his childhood and arrive confidently into adulthood.

What are your parenting resolutions for 2015? Share them here or on our Facebook page!