Does Your Child Need Help In Deciding A Future?
Is your teenager about to be a senior in high school next fall? Perhaps he or she is already a senior and is still undecided as to what he or she wants to do following high school graduation. Perhaps your son or daughter has so many interests that it is hard to select which of many fields of study he or she wants to pursue. On the other hand, your child may be less motivated and is simply anxious to be finished with school. In that case, you might have decided that he or she needs a bit of a push in the right direction. The key in either situation is deciding what the right direction should be. From planning together to getting help from a school counselor, here are some ideas when your child needs help in deciding his or her future.
Getting Started - Of course, you have more than likely been setting the stage for helping your child for a long time. Hopefully you and your child work well together and can discuss important matters frankly. Perhaps, though, your child would do better getting direction from somebody else. In either case, encourage your teenager to talk to adult friends and acquaintances who work in different fields. For example, if your teenager has a favorite aunt or uncle, or trusted friends, consider asking your child to talk to those individuals.
Direction At School - The high school your child attends more than likely has a counselor who can sit with your child to give him or her important direction. If your high school is a small one, it may be the principal or the assistant principal who takes on the roll of career advisement. However, it doesn't have to be any of these individuals who help your child to decide on a future course of action. For example, if your child has been active in sports, it might be a coach he or she can turn to for help in deciding what to do after graduation. Or, it might be a favorite teacher.
As your child is trying to decide what to do after finishing high school, consider asking him or her to keep a notebook where he or she can write down ideas or feelings he or she has as decisions are being made. Your child can also ask other people to write down their ideas in the notebook so that the ideas can be considered when your child is alone.
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