In a recent survey, it was found that children spend twice the amount of time surfing on the internet as their parents think they do. In fact, the average age for them in terms of using the internet is three years. While choosing your child’s career, it is imperative to keep in mind their likes, dislikes, hobbies and goals. At an early age, parents have the advantage to seed in the career choice which will be the best for their future. Additionally, parents should keep the following things in mind:
Avoid treating your child as your extension
Your child is a unique individual and might not like things or activities that you might be crazy about. Hence, you need to resist your urge to tell your child to avoid a path or a career option which you are/ were never interested in.
Discover your child’s strengths
In order to discover your child’s strengths, you can consider visiting a career counselor to take aptitude tests. The aptitude test results would help in finding out your child’s strength, leading to choosing the right career path. This will help in analysing what your child would be the best at, thus helping him/her to choose the right activities and studies.
Find a mentor for your child
In order to develop new skills in your child in a certain direction, it would be best to find a positive and encouraging role model for them. This mentor will be able to fuel your child’s career aspirations.
Expose your child to various activities
You need to expose your child to new activities like exposing them to nature, art, science, museums, animals, travel, people and other aspects. This will help you to understand what piques their interest the most. In case they are curious to know more about a certain topic, then encourage them as they would later also love that as a subject and as a future career option.
Find your tribe and tell your child to find theirs
Jim Rohn stated that “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. As a parent you would be really good at making this tribe and you should be helping your child to make one. You need to motivate your child to come out of the comfort zone and relate to their peers. Having an amazing tribe will help them grow to their full potential and play an important role in decision making.
Set a great example
Your child often watches every move of yours. You need to set a great example whether it’s about careers, performing home tasks, maintaining relations with neighbours or living a good social life. Each aspect is important as you are the first motivation for your child.
Encourage and be patient
You need to constantly encourage and motivate your child. Making a career in your favourite subject or in an art you are passionate about takes time and hence patience plays a very important role. You need to constantly motivate your child and be patient.
[“source=indianexpress”]
