<a href="http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/the-frog-and-snail-society-page-roxanna-et/files/2012/12/viewer.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1462" title="viewer" alt="" src="http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/the-frog-and-snail-society-page-roxanna-et/files/2012/12/viewer-300x300.jpeg" width="300" height="300" /></a>I know it's absolutely uncool to make resolutions these days, but old habits die hard, and I've never claimed to be hip.

I love taking the last few days of the year to plan out the next -- I've been making personal resolutions since I got my first Super Secret Journal (thank you, <em>Harriet the Spy</em>!), but one thing I've never done is make parenting resolutions. Maybe it's because being a parent is all-encompassing, maybe it's because I enjoy being selfish (for once) when laying out my intentions for the upcoming year.

But if I find resolutions to be so helpful in mapping my life, why should I ignore parenting, which is a <em>huge</em> part of it?

The answer, of course, is that I shouldn't.

<a href="http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/the-frog-and-snail-society-page-roxanna-et/2012/12/29/my-parenting-resolutions-for-2013/"><em>{Read more at Babble}</em>

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<span style="color: #ffffff;">It's easy to get carried away and resolve to fix every mistake I've made in the seven years I've been a mother. As a veteran resolution maker, I know that doing this is a recipe for disaster. So this year I'm setting three resolutions to make parenting more fun.</span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong> 1. Assign chores</strong></span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;">I know this sounds like a joke, but I've slacked on this because it was actually easier to do things myself when they were younger, but the kids are 7, 5, and 3 now -- they're old enough to do some simple chores around the house. You're welcome, future spouses.</span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>2. Stop sneaking peeks at the iPhone</strong></span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;">I'm not going to lie to myself and swear off Facebook and email entirely. But I will stop pretending that the kids don't notice when I sneak a peek (or two of ten) at my phone. Instead I will announce it, out loud, with my voice, both for their sakes and mine. I think that saying "kids, I'm going to check my phone for five minutes" out loud will make it obvious to me how often I check that thing, and how ridiculous it is.</span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;">(Wish me luck, fellow addicts.)</span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>3. More family photos</strong></span>

<span style="color: #ffffff;">I take dozens of pictures a day. There were <em>no family</em> pictures last year. Not one. That is going to change. I will take one family portrait a month with the camera's self-timer, and maybe I'll actually hire a photographer to take a picture of all of us this year. I think we deserve it!</span>