Teaching Children to Pursue Their Dreams

As a parent, one of the most important tasks you face, other than meeting your child's basic health and safety concerns, is to raise your child to become a productive citizen. Part of that entails teaching your children to pursue their dreams and work hard to achieve them.

  1. Emphasize Strengths

    • Regularly stress your child's strengths because it is from his strengths that he will build the foundation for his goals and dreams in life. If your little one has the gift of gab, encourage him to tap his talent in productive ways, such as relaying family stories and dabbling in writing. As he builds his strengths, your child learns how capable he really is and lets go of worries that his dreams are too lofty.

    Provide Opportunities

    • Provide opportunities to explore and expand her knowledge in her area of interest. If your child has her heart set on exploring space when she grows up, give her books and videos about the universe. The more she learns about her interests the better able she is to refine her dreams and goals. Perhaps she will discover that being an astronaut is her life's career, but she might well discover that astronomy or astrophysics is more in line with her heart's desire. Providing her with age-appropriate opportunities to learn helps her uncover where her real interests lie.

    Help Set Goals

    • Sometimes children set goals without any knowledge of what it takes to get there. That's where parents come in. Helping your child define the steps needed to reach a goal or dream puts him in line for reaching it. Because children tend to underestimate the amount of work or time involved in reaching goals, teach them to set manageable objectives that will lead to attaining their dreams. For the young child who dreams of being a musician, mastering one song at a time or learning a new technique are reasonable goals. Older children benefit from help in choosing classes that build the skills needed to realize their dreams.

    Set an Example

    • Children learn more from what you do than what you tell them, making it important to set a good example. If your child sees you striving to reach goals and pursue your dreams, he'll know it's possible. Be a leader for your child and let him see you working regularly to reach your dreams and goals. Don't be afraid to discuss it with him -- even when you fall short. Knowing how to handle setbacks is an important part of learning to achieve goals and dreams.

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