Hot Momma’s Advice: It’s always important to be striving for something. Helping your child achieve his/her short term goals will help your child reach his/her long term goals!!!
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a question that every child, teen and even adult is asked. My answers changed every week, and as I went from astronaut to teacher to ballerina to doctor, my Hot Momma loved that I was always dreaming of being something great and used this to motivate me to keep going. With each new answer always came a different path and life journey I’d have to take to get there, but my Hot Momma knew that small simple steps and goals were all I really needed to succeed. As the proverb says, ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’.
My Hot Momma believes that the sooner you teach your child to set goals the better. While a child is young, encouraging him/her to focus on short term goals is the way to start. Here are a few ideas to use when teaching your child the importance of having and setting goals:
Goals can be short-term or long-term
Young children might not be able to think far enough ahead to make many long-term goals. Make sure your child knows the difference between short-term and long-term goals. Having your younger child (under 12) set one academic goal and one behavioural goal each year for school is a great place to start.
For example your child’s behavioural goal could be “I will take a deep breath when I get angry before I react”. An academic goal could be “I will complete my homework on time” or “I will read for ten minutes every day”. Try to focus to begin with goals that help the child to know what to do each day, rather than a goal that looms in the distance like “I will pass my end-of-term tests”. If your child is studying and reading, the tests will take care of themselves!
As children reach secondary school age, they can begin to learn how to set bigger goals or set a larger number of goals each year, but be sure to help them keep their goals practical and achievable.
Encourage your child to set goals that s/he can accomplish
Achieving short-term goals eventually leads to success in pursuing long-term goals. Start with really simple goals that are easily achievable. If your child has goals that are reachable then she or he can get satisfaction within a short period of time. This will show her/him the reward of having goals and help her/him continue setting them, and working to meet them.
Break down goals into smaller, attainable steps and celebrate those achievements
Emphasize the importance of achieving each step that the goals takes, rather than focusing on just the final realization of the goal. This will keep your child going with it to the end.
Children who start ahead, stay ahead. Teaching children goal setting is by far the best way you as a parent can help them get on the right track to securing a successful future. As children get older, they will have to start setting their own goals and taking control of their own learning, so give them a head start on learning to do this.
It’s also important to remember that children work harder to accomplish goals that matter to them. Make sure your child is setting his/her own goals and not following goals that you have set. Your role is to help by reminding your child what his/her goals are! Get creative and make a colourful goals sheet.
Finally, don’t forget to set goals for yourself too. My Hot Momma always said “A life without goals is a life not being lived to the fullest.” Reaching your full potential is a great way for your child to be inspired to reach him/hers.
Please send specific or general questions about your child’s education or way to teach them to: classroomguyana@g mail.com
