While most parents prepare their children for adult independence, they would need guidance for things. One of those things is choosing a career path. Children sometimes want an assurance that they’re doing the right thing. And your validation as their parents is important.
Research says that a child’s decisions are usually modeled by influences from the family. This alone could help your children shape their career trajectory. But your influence isn’t always going to be a reliable deciding factor. Encourage your children to find that strong desire for a career they want to pursue.
So how can you help your child on choosing their career? How can you push them to follow their passion without feeling guilty for going against the grain? Here are some tips you can apply to be an effective guide on your child’s decision-making for this matter.
Offer your help
While inspiring them to take the same path you’ve chosen is good, your child has their own mind. If you want to help them in choosing their future careers, offer your help first. It’s a nice way to express your respect for their autonomy. If you think that they’re confused about which classes to take, talk to them. They might need your help. Tell them about their aspirations when they were little. Remind them of what they wanted to be when they grow up.
It’ll also be better if your child asks for your help with career choices. This will make it much easier for you to offer your help with their decision-making. Choosing a career is one of the most crucial decisions your child will make. Be there when they need you to be there.
Give them insights
One way to help your child with their decision is to give them thoughts about their potential choices. Maybe they want to pursue a career in healthcare. Give them positive insights into the industry. Perhaps, tell them about the careers in the healthcare industry that belong to the highest paying jobs tier. Or tell them how accountancy can be their stepping stone on becoming a lawyer. If they chose to follow your career path, let them know about your struggles. Tell them about how you survived them too.
Make it motivating if you think they’re on the right track. Give them the pros and cons of their selected career path. But let them make the decision.
Identify their skills
If they’re able to express the need for your help, tell them your honest opinion. Base your inputs on the skills you think they excel at. Identifying your child’s skills is necessary to hone them for their future career. For this one, you have to list down all the skills you think they have potential with. Match it with industries they can choose a career from.
Say they’re keen on analyzing constructions and structures. Maybe engineering could be right for them. Then they can take up online CDP courses for engineers later in life for continuous learning. Identifying the skills they excel at can narrow down the choices for their career paths.
Encourage their passion
As a parent, you always want the best for your child. But sometimes, what you want for them doesn’t align with what they want. It’s going to feel conflicting, but it’s only normal. You’re there to give them advice, not to control them. So you have to encourage their passion. Don’t make jarring comments about their career choices. If your child likes performing arts, give them the training they need. If they like to draw, provide the tools for drawing. Make them try things they think they’ll have the most fun doing.
That’s what they enjoy, and they know it more than you do. Encouraging your child to pursue their passion will give them more inspiration. Their confidence in making their own decisions lies in you.
Support their final choices
If they’re able to make the final decision, support them. Not just that, you have to support them all the way. This also means being there while they struggle with the choices they decide on. Say you’re able to send them to college. Continue encouraging them. Never play the blame game if they’re on the verge of failure. Inspire your child by telling them that failure is normal and you’re going to help them get back on track if. Support their career journey but let them decide on which path to take.
Choosing the right career path is a crucial task for some. Nobody knows what the future holds that’s why it’s a little gut-wrenching. Your child sure knows they don’t want to make a mistake. But let them know that you support them no matter what. It’s going to give them confidence in whatever they want to pursue.
