New Year reading resolutions for kids: pick three and print your card
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For grown-ups: all 15 resolutions, two examples, keeping it fun and questions
What your child practises: choosing what to read for themselves, sharing books with other people and writing stories of their own. National Curriculum, Year 2, Reading – comprehension: “participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say”.
A printable “My reading resolutions” card for 2027, for ages 5 to 11. Your child picks three of fifteen reading resolutions, in words for younger or older readers, or writes their own, then prints an A4 card with a space to draw and a tracker for the year or for the first four weeks. Nothing is saved or sent.
All fifteen reading resolutions, in words for younger and older readers
Try a new series- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will read a book from a series I have not tried.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will start a series I have never read, and decide for myself whether book two is worth it.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Ask at the library which series children of their age keep coming back for, then let your child choose from the shelf.
Read to someone younger- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will read a story to someone smaller than me, or to my teddy.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will read a picture book aloud to a younger child, with a different voice for each character.
- How a grown-up can help:
- No little ones nearby? A cousin on a video call, a pet or a row of toys makes a very good audience.
Write my own story- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will make my own little book with words and pictures.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will write a story of my own, with a beginning, a middle and an end, and share it with someone I choose.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Fold three sheets of paper in half and staple the spine: a blank book is a powerful invitation.
Visit the library- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will go to the library and choose a book all by myself.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will use my library card and borrow something I would never usually pick.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Let your child carry their own library card and hand the books over at the desk: it makes the visit theirs.
Read a book a grown-up loved as a child- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will ask a grown-up for a story they loved when they were little, and read it with them.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will read a book a grown-up in my family loved at my age, then tell them honestly what I thought.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Tell your child why you loved it, then be ready for them not to love it. Both answers are interesting.
Find a poem I love- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will find a poem that makes me smile and read it to someone.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will read lots of poems by one poet and copy out my favourite to keep.
- How a grown-up can help:
- A slim poetry book from the library is a quick win for a child who finds long books hard work.
Read about something I love- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will find a book full of facts about something I love.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will become an expert on one subject by reading two or three non-fiction books about it.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Follow the obsession, whether it is sharks, volcanoes or football. Fact books are real reading.
Try a comic or graphic novel- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will read a comic and show someone my favourite page.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will read a graphic novel and notice how the pictures tell part of the story.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Comics and graphic novels ask a lot of a reader: words, pictures and what happens in the gaps between panels.
Make a reading den- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will make a cosy reading corner with cushions and my favourite books.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will set up my own reading spot and keep my next book waiting there.
- How a grown-up can help:
- A torch, a blanket over two chairs and a basket of books can turn an ordinary evening into an adventure.
Recommend a book to a friend- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will tell a friend about a book I love.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will recommend a book to a friend, give my reasons, and ask them for one back.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Ask your child who in their class would love the book they have just finished, and why.
Keep having stories read to me- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will choose the bedtime story some nights and listen all the way to the end.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will ask for a chapter read aloud to me sometimes, even though I can read on my own.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Reading aloud does not need to stop when a child can read alone: a story above their reading level is still a treat at ten.
Find a new favourite author- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will find an author I like and look for more of their books.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will read three books by the same author and work out what makes their writing theirs.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Library catalogues and the back pages of a book often list an author’s other titles.
Swap a book that is not for me- Ages 5 to 7:
- If a book is not for me, I will choose a different one.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- If I am not enjoying a book after a few chapters, I will swap it for another without feeling bad.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Say it out loud: putting a book down is allowed, and choosing the next one is part of being a reader.
Read a story set far away- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will read a story that happens in another country.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will read a book set in a country or a time very different from mine.
- How a grown-up can help:
- A map or a globe beside the book lets your child find the place and talk about what it might be like.
Read an old favourite again- Ages 5 to 7:
- I will read my favourite book again, as many times as I like.
- Ages 8 to 11:
- I will reread a book I loved when I was younger and spot something I missed the first time.
- How a grown-up can help:
- Rereading is not cheating. Knowing a story well lets a child enjoy the words instead of working them out.
Two example cards
Two cards written for this page to show how different they can look. They are examples, not real children’s cards: one for a Year 1 child who chose with a grown-up, and one for a Year 5 child who wrote one resolution of their own.
A Year 1 card
- I will read a story to someone smaller than me, or to my teddy.
- I will make a cosy reading corner with cushions and my favourite books.
- I will read my favourite book again, as many times as I like.
Three small, cosy promises. A big sister reading to her baby brother, a den behind the sofa, and permission to read the dinosaur book for the hundredth time.
A Year 5 card
- I will read a graphic novel and notice how the pictures tell part of the story.
- I will read three books by the same author and work out what makes their writing theirs.
- I will write a joke book and read it to my grandad.
Two picked from the list and one in the child’s own words. The joke book came from loving a funny series, which is exactly how a resolution should grow.
Keeping reading resolutions fun, not a chore
New Year is a natural moment for a fresh start, and a reading resolution can be a lovely one for a child, as long as it belongs to them. The resolutions on this card are about trying, sharing and making things: a new series, a den, a story for a little cousin, a book that a grown-up loved long ago. None of them is about reading more pages or more often. They are invitations, and your child is the one who accepts them.
Let your child do the choosing. In the National Literacy Trust’s 2026 survey of children and young people’s reading, 61.6% of children aged 5 to 8 said they enjoyed reading. A resolution should protect that enjoyment, not turn it into homework. Read the options together, say what you think if you are asked, and then step back. A resolution your child picked is one they will want to remember; a resolution you picked for them is a job.
Three is plenty, and fewer is fine. The card has three spaces because three small promises are easier to hold in mind than a long list, but a five-year-old with one resolution they love has a perfect card. Small and concrete beats big and vague: “visit the library” is something a child can do on a Saturday, while “read more” has no finish line and no way to tell when it is done.
Everything counts. Comics, poems, fact books, joke books, audiobooks and being read to are all real reading, and several of the resolutions say so on purpose. One of them gives your child permission to swap a book they are not enjoying, and another invites them to reread an old favourite. Both matter. Putting down the wrong book is part of being a reader, and rereading a story they know well lets a child enjoy the words instead of working them out.
The tracker is for ticking, not for checking. A tick means a resolution happened at least once that month (or that week, on the four-week start). Empty boxes are fine, and the card says so. Keep it somewhere your child can see it, such as the fridge, the bedroom door or inside a reading record, and let them do the ticking. Avoid turning it into a chart with prizes, and never put two children’s cards side by side to see who has more ticks. The card is not a contest, and nobody else needs to see it.
Check in gently. At the start of each month, look at the card together and ask which resolution has been the most fun so far. If one has not happened at all, ask whether it still feels like a good idea. Swapping a resolution is allowed: cross it out, write a new one in, or print a fresh card. Resolutions that change as a child grows are working, not failing.
Join in. Children notice what grown-ups do, so make a reading resolution of your own and print a card for yourself. Reading the same book as your child, starting a series together or swapping recommendations at the weekend are all good grown-up resolutions, and they turn the card into something the family does together.
For younger children, read the options aloud and let them choose by the pictures. Choose the words for ages 5 to 7, and a grown-up can write a resolution in for a child who cannot write yet, using their exact words. The space to draw is there so that every child can finish their card, whatever their handwriting. Older children often enjoy writing one resolution of their own, and the box for it takes a short sentence.
In class, the card makes a calm first lesson in January. Print blank cards, read the fifteen resolutions together and let each child choose and write their own, then decorate the drawing space. Keep the cards private or display them only if the children want to. Revisiting them at half term, with a quiet tick or a fresh choice, works better than collecting them in to check.
In the National Curriculum
“participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say”
Year 2, Reading – comprehension (statutory)
“increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally”
Years 3 and 4, Reading – comprehension (statutory)
“being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways”
Year 2, Reading – comprehension (statutory)
“in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot”
Years 3 and 4, Writing – composition (statutory)
About this page
How it works · Sources
Sources
The quotations in “In the National Curriculum” are copied word for word from the first document, with the year and section each applies to. The figure on children aged 5 to 8 enjoying reading is from the National Literacy Trust’s report page, checked on 5 November 2026. The resolutions, examples and advice are Litsee’s own suggestions.
How it works
The card runs in your browser. The resolutions your child picks, a resolution they write and their first name stay on the screen and on the printed card only: nothing is saved on this device, sent anywhere or added to the page’s address, and it all clears when you close or refresh the page.
Last updated: .
Questions parents and teachers ask
What is a good New Year’s resolution for a child?
One the child chooses, that they would enjoy, and that is small enough to actually do. Reading resolutions work well because there are so many kinds: this card has fifteen to choose from, from making a reading den to reading to someone younger, and a space for a child to write their own.
How many reading resolutions should my child choose?
Up to three, which is how many the card holds. One or two is completely fine, especially for younger children. Any space left empty prints with a line, so a child can add a resolution later in the year if they want to.
Is my child’s name saved or sent anywhere?
No. A first name typed on the page, the resolutions your child picks and anything they write stay on your screen and on the printed card only. Nothing is saved on your device or sent to Litsee or anyone else, nothing goes in the page’s address, and it all clears when you close or refresh the page. The name is optional.
What if my child is too young to write?
Choose the words for ages 5 to 7 and read the options aloud; the pictures help a child choose on their own. The printed card has the chosen resolutions already on it, a space to draw, and boxes to tick, so a child who cannot write yet can still fill in their card. A grown-up can write a resolution in using the child’s own words.
Can teachers use the card with a class?
Yes. Print a blank card for each child and read the fifteen resolutions together in January, or let children pick on the whiteboard and print. Keep the cards private, or display them only if the children want to, and avoid comparing ticks: the tracker is for each child’s own encouragement.
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