In
today's society getting the right careers advice for children / kids and
teenagers, is highly recommended. Many of the most successful adults today were
fortunate enough to have been given some form of careers advice while they were
still young. This gave them an advantage over many of their peers as they
already knew and had a direction to head in when they had finished their
secondary level of education.
When
we are young we all dream of:
Becoming
a scientist
Becoming a farmer
Working with the medical services
Working with
the fire services
Working with the police services
Becoming a professional
sports person
Becoming an architect
Becoming an astronaut
Owning a business
Becoming
an actor
or
one of the many other types of work that are available.
However,
as we all know, there are hundreds, thousands if not millions of distractions
that are available to take our attention away from the path that will lead us
to that dream job or career that we always wanted.
Very
often life turns out very differently from what we had originally expected and
we end up accepting jobs or careers that are very distant from what we actually
wanted to do when we became adults.
From
an early age children should be encouraged to think about the following:
What
do they enjoy doing?
What do they want to do when they are older?
Do they
understand what their parents / carers do?
Do they understand how different
jobs make up the society that they live in?
The importance of being a positive
and constructive member of society.
The results of not being a positive and
constructive member of society.
Enjoying childhood and teenage years while
still remembering that they will one day become an adult.
Many
people may think that these issues are too difficult for some children / kids
to cope with. That is true. However, many children do have the mental capacity
to identify with things that affect them but are not necessarily in front of
them. Adults should encourage the children in their charge to think at the
level most suited to that child. Careers advice for children can begin at any
age. For example if a child shows an interest in art for example, it may be a
good idea to take the child to an art gallery which could broaden the child's
thinking.
Or
if a child shows interest in design, it might be possible to obtain some design
equipment for them, or take them to a place where design is done at a
professional level. They could even be taken to a trade or fashion show so they
could see the end results of the design process.
Another
important thing to remember:
Is
the child or teenager naturally good at something?
This
is often a major factor that is widely overlooked by parents and carers.
For
example many children / kids and teenagers today want to be involved in the music
industry. Adults usually think that this is a stage that the child or teenager
will grow out of. However we also forget that it is usually ourselves that
encourage them to learn musical instruments when they are young and we become
upset or annoyed when they don't pursue or wish to continue their musical
education.
What
could help in this kind of situation is to provide the necessary careers advice
for children and teenagers about this and help them learn what is REALLY
involved in becoming a professional musician. Once they have realised that it
is not as easy as TV leads us to believe, they will either become serious about
that intention or they will rethink their plans.
The
most important thing to remember is to continually encourage the child to be successful
at whatever they eventually choose to do. This will give them the self
confidence necessary to achieve the best they can at their chosen career or
profession.
Also
remember that careers advice for children and teenagers could involve
discussing further education. This is often looked at as a last resort for a
youth who has not decided what s/he wants to do, when it is not. Further
education can often provide the required foundation for youths that DO know
what they want to do, and also for youths that Don't. Either way it is an
excellent subject to discuss with them.
Adults
sometimes overburden children and teenagers with talk about 'the future'. This
could eventually have a negative effect on the childs' or teenagers' choice
when choosing what to do.
Many
people often have failed job or career dreams that they knowingly or
unknowingly 'dump' onto youths. Adults often say things like
'I
wanted to be a......... but......... wouldn't let me'
'If I had been offered
the chances that you have I'd be a......... by now'
'If I hadn't had children,
I could have been a......... by now'.
'There weren't any opportunities when I
was your age'
'If I'd known what I know now I'd have become a.........'
This
MUST be avoided. Remember children and teenagers are very impressionable and
can detect when there is resentment in what someone is saying. This could lead
them to not want to talk about careers and jobs as they may think it upsets the
adult.
A
final note: Always be positive and constructive when providing careers advice
for children / kids and teenagers. It is a good thing to point out what could
happen if they don't do well at school, college, university, or don't make good
career choices, however don't let this be the main topic or subject of your
discussions.
They
must be taught that receiving careers advice is a good thing and providing they
listen and carefully consider what is being advised, they will have a better
chance of leading a happier, more fulfilling, enjoyable and worthwhile life.
Remember it is their life, NOT yours.
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