Life is all about achieving potential, and in order to do that, everyone must have goals to which they can aspire. That is an important lesson to teach your children, and one that will serve them very well in their adult years. As a parent, you want to ensure that your child has a secure future, teaching them to set goals is one way of ensuring that.
What valuable life lessons can you teach your children by helping them to set goals? Goals provide motivation. Perhaps your child has shown the desire to learn a musical instrument or take up a particular sport. You can help them to set a goal of achieving this is 6 months or 1 year, whatever is reasonable. The important thing is to ensure that your child enjoys the journey towards that goal. Having a goal will provide the motivation they need to press on, especially during times of frustration, when they might be tempted to give up.
Having goals emphasizes the importance of hard work and perseverance. It is possible that your child will become frustrated many times before they reach their goal. Your job is to encourage them and cheer them on towards the goal. Offer the support they need when they become discouraged. Help them to understand that it takes time to reach the destination, it does not happen overnight. If they do not give up, then at the end of the day they will feel a great sense of accomplishment, and will have learnt an important life lesson.
Goals help them to become organized. Plans must be put in place in order for goals to be achieved. For instance, for a small child, a goal can be as simple as ensuring that toys are put away after use. In order to do this, they will need to have storage boxes for the toys. Another goal might be to ensure that their school bags are packed and organized each night, in preparation for the next day of school. Of course children do learn by example, therefore, it is a good idea that you also practice the traits that you would like your child to adopt.
Goals improve their ability to focus. There is nothing like having a plan to give you a well needed head start. They learn how important it is to keep their eye on the prize, and not become distracted. With a goal in view, their efforts are concentrated towards achieving that particular objective. There is no question of them being side tracked by peripheral concerns, which will not assist them in achieving their goal.
When you first give your child a goal, get them involved and make it an easy one. Then you can give them a more difficult one the next time. As each goal is reached, they will gain confidence and their aspirations will become higher. It will also help them in solving problems they might come across, because they are always obstacles on the way to achieving goals.
No comments:
Post a Comment