How to Help Teens Learn the Importance of Planning
Many teenagers are impetuous by nature and others always wait until the last minute to do something. They rarely understand the wisdom of careful planning and the consequences if they don̵7;t. Helping adolescents understand how planning makes their lives run more smoothly and efficiently is possible if you incorporate real-life examples into your discussions.
Instructions
Ask your teen to lay out her clothes and all the things she will need the night before an early event the following morning. Many teens say they will do this, but then forget or go to bed without doing so. She may race around the next morning searching for the perfect shoes to go with her outfit and then arrive late to the activity. Talk to her later about how if she had found the shoes along with everything else the night before, she wouldn̵7;t have missed out on part of the fun. Open a savings account for your teenager to help him plan his financial goals and eventually reach them. Advise him to make it a ritual to deposit at least 10 percent of his income into this account each week or even once a month. The income may result from a part-time job, his allowance or other monetary gifts he receives during the year. Show him a graph of how compound interest results in big savings over the long term. Discuss with him how you regret not having done this yourself in the past because it would have meant fewer college loans and enabled you to purchase a first car that was more reliable. Tell your teenager stories about how poor planning on your part made a big difference in your life. For instance, if you did not take the appropriate prep classes in high school for your college degree and, therefore, you had to attend college a year longer than necessary. Instruct your teen to study a little bit each day for a big exam rather than cramming and staying up half the night the day before the test. Explain that she is likely to obtain a higher score by being well rested and prepared than she would if exhausted by late-night studying, as suggested by the Kids Health website. Model effective time management skills yourself so that these habits will be second nature for your teen when he is older. For example, run all your errands in one trip or wash the dishes while you are waiting for a cake to bake. Talk to your teen about the temptations she will encounter growing up. Explain that it is crucial to plan beforehand how she will handle pressure from her peers when dating and hanging out. This is a wise time to utilize role-playing. Think up different scenarios she may encounter so that she can have a response ready when pressured to engage in premarital sex, drinking or drugs, as suggested by the Family Planning website.
