10 New Year's Resolutions Every Parent Will Break (And Shouldn’t Feel Bad About)

We all have grand ideas of how we’ll be ‘better’ parents next year. We'll aim to go all Gwyneth Paltrow and whip up wholesome meals for our well-behaved children while juggling a successful career and just being all-round fabulous.

But unfortunately, parenthood isn’t plain sailing for most of us (nor do we have nannies and bottomless bank balances) – making it hard for any resolutions we make to stick.

And with statistics showing that just eight per cent of people achieve their New Year’s resolutions, we reckon you shouldn’t feel too bad about not keeping yours.

Parenting’s so tough that even super parents would struggle to keep these resolutions…

Not Judging Other Parents
Yeah… that’s not going to happen. It’s in our nature to judge. Particularly when witnessing a screaming match between a mother and her son on the bus.

Play With The Children More
Sadly all of the cooking, cleaning and general domestic duties don’t leave much time for playing robots and aliens.

Resorting To Bribery
Every so often you need to bring out the big guns (we’re talking a lollipop or extra 15 minutes of TV here) to save yourself from the evils of the other customers in the supermarket checkout queue.

Cook Healthy Meals Every Day
There are only so many nutrient-packed dinners that a two year old will eat. Fish fingers aren’t so bad, once in a while.

Trimming Back On Screen Time
When you’re dying for some more sleep after another 5am wake up call, letting your toddler have an hour on the iPad doesn’t seem like bad parenting.

Not Shouting At The Kids
Easy said than done when your child’s just decorated your living room walls with her new crayon set.

Better Bedtimes
Extending bedtime by half an hour so you can all finish that epic family game of Twister isn’t all that bad, right?

Pack The Lunch Boxes The Night Before
This would be sensible in practice, but by the time you’ve got the kids in bed all you want to do is vegetate in front of the TV until sleep beckons.

Read More Parenting Books
OK, so you may not know Gina Ford from Adam, but is that really such a big deal? There’s more to life.

Start Some Good Habits
You may’ve decided that this is the year that you’ll master potty training or get your tot brushing her teeth on a daily basis, but it isn’t always that simple. And don’t panic if it doesn’t happen – your little one will get there in her own time.

[Mum Diary: What Puppy Training Taught Me About Parenting (Yes, Really)]

[Lunchtime Stories With My Kids]

Are you making any New Year’s resolutions? If so, share them in the comments below.