(KUTV) Licensed Counselor Clair Mellenthin is here to share four goals every parent should have this year. She got the ideas from this blog:  www.GrownandFlown.com

1.) Celebrate each of the yearly milestones of your child beginning with that very first year.  Videotape your baby’s smile and laughter.  Mark the wall and capture their physical growth throughout the years.

2.) Don’t wait for the “perfect” time to go on a trip, visit a museum, take a hike.  There will never be a “perfect” age to do these things.  However, by age 8 most kids can sleep in a motel easily, have patience and curiosity to visit new places.

3.) Make the most of age 15. This is the last chapter of childhood before your teen truly starts pulling away and entering the new phase of finding his individual self.  Go on a road trip and spend not just quantity time but quality time.

4.) At age 18, your child is an adult.  It is a good time to talk about the future, dispel the family myths, and encourage their independence.  This is also an age that if they are ready and curious, it is okay to discuss hard things you have undergone as a parent, whether it is a divorce or other difficult life changes.

For more information, go to www.clairmellenthin.com or www.wasatchfamilytherapy.com