Definition of Goal Setting for Children

Goal Setting

• Goal setting means identifying an end result and outlining the steps necessary to achieving it. Goal setting is different than simply asking children to do something. Goal setting involves talking with them about what they want to achieve, like a certain grade point average, and helping them identify a strategy to achieve it. Children can be motivated by the goal setting process to continue to set their own goals. This teaches them responsibility and gives them self-esteem when they achieve their goals.

Goals for Children

• Children's goals may differ depending on their age levels. Young children, for instance, might set goals like learning to tie their shoes. Older children should have more serious goals that teach them important life lessons, like attaining a summer job or improving their grades in school. Even if kids are doing fine in school and behaving well, goal setting can still teach them how to have a good attitude about fulfilling their responsibilities. A straight A student, for instance, might set a goal of preparing for college or joining an extracurricular activity related to their interests.

Setting Goals

• Parents should work with children to set their own goals and avoid pushing goals on them too aggressively. Goal setting can take place in almost any situation. If a child wants a particular toy, for instance, parents can turn that request into an opportunity to teach responsibility by having them perform chores valued at certain amounts to get the toy. According to Family Education, goal setting activities like this can help teach financial responsibility. Parents can use graphic illustrations with young children, like progress charts or stickers.

Reinforcing Responsibility

• Goal setting also means reinforcing responsible behavior by rewarding children for taking action to achieve their goals. Children don't just need to be rewarded for achieving their goals, since this might make them develop a negative attitude toward goal setting. Rewarding a child for studying, for instance, is still appropriate even if they didn't get the grade they wanted on a test.

Considerations

• It is important to help your children set goals and encourage them for meeting their goals, but they will work toward them in their own individual ways. You don't want your kids to feel bad about the approach they took to achieving their goals. This is emotionally confusing, even for an adult. It is also important not to be too hard on them if they don't achieve their goals, since no one can achieve every goal. Parents should focus on what kids did right when they fail and how to improve.