How to help your kid set goals for 2023

ith the New year just around the corner, now is a great time to focus on helping your kids set some goals for themselves. Goals can be a powerful tool for helping children learn how to be successful and productive in life. Here are a few tips for getting started:

When it comes to With the New year just around the corner, now is a great time to focus on helping your kids set some goals for themselves. Goals can be a powerful tool for helping children learn how to be successful and productive in life. Here are a few tips for getting started:

When it comes to helping kids develop into healthy and successful adults, goal setting is a critical tool. By setting goals, kids learn how to plan their time and manage their efforts to achieve the desired outcome. Additionally, they gain valuable skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, self-reflection, and discipline that will serve them throughout their lives.

When it comes to goal setting for kids, there are a few key factors to consider.

Let Children choose their big Goal

Kids should be allowed to set their own goals and choose what is important to them. By giving them this autonomy, kids learn how to take responsibility for their actions and manage their progress by setting realistic objectives that they can measure over time.

Purpose Behind the goals 

Children need to know the why behind the goal they are setting. When they can understand the purpose and importance of their goal, they are more likely to be motivated to achieve it. Like my son wants to learn to code, so I shared with him the importance of coding and how it would help him achieve his long-term career goals.

Are the goals realistic and achievable?

First, it’s important to make sure that the goals are age appropriate and realistic. Young children may have difficulty understanding abstract concepts such as “become an astronaut,” while older children may find common goals, such as “read ten books this summer” to be too easy.

It’s also important to ensure that the goals are specific and measurable. This can help kids to stay focused and motivated in their tasks. For example, the goal of “learn to code in python” is much more measurable than “learn to code.”

Breaking the bigger goal into smaller steps

“The biggest mistake a lot of people make in setting goals for themselves, Cuddy says, is that they focus only on the outcome, not the process. Cuddy is a renowned authority on human behavior and the author of "Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges," an influential book that has impacted many lives.

Children need to think of a bigger goal and then break it down into smaller, achievable goals. For example, if their big goal is to “learn to code in python” the smaller goals could be:

1) Learn the basics and syntax of python

2) Write a simple program in python

The process behind the goals matters more than the outcome 

It’s important to focus on the process of achieving the goals, not just the result.

Support to achieve the goal

Children should be clear about how they are learning, are they doing a course or are they using books, videos, etc. to learn?

The learning material should be ready in advance so that they are prepared and have the necessary supplies to complete their task. They should have all the necessary resources in hand to complete the task.

Like if they are learning from videos or books, it should be scheduled for every day and they should have clear expectations of what needs to be done by the end of the day, week or month.

Time allotment

They should be clear about how much time they will need to give to their goal to be successful. 

For example, Adi would like to work on his programming for 30 minutes a day and spend time learning about it for 30 minutes.

They should know what time would like to work on their goal and should set a reminder to stay on track.

Goals should have checkpoints 

They should also build regular checkpoints or milestones throughout the process. These can help them to stay on track and adjust their plan if they need to. for example, he could check in with me each week to update you on his progress.

Consider the obstacles that might come up, so that kids can plan and be prepared.

According to Psychologist Gabriele Oettingen, having a plan for potential obstacles is important she recommends WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) when it comes to goal setting.

Wish- I want to code a phone app

Outcome- I will be able to create my phone app

Obstacle-I do not know how to code

Plan-To take a course in coding and practice for 30 minutes per day.

Discuss with kids what can stop them from achieving the goal they have set.

It’s important to talk with kids about potential obstacles or roadblocks they might encounter in achieving their goals. This can help them to come up with strategies for overcoming these obstacles and staying on track.

For example, if Adi sets a goal of learning how to code in python, he should consider what could stop him from achieving it. Some potential obstacles are difficulty understanding the material. By discussing possible roadblocks with Adi and coming up with solutions for them in advance, he can be more prepared for when they come up.

Finally, kids need to understand that there will be setbacks and difficulties along the way. Encouraging them to keep going and persevere is an important part of goal-setting and can help build resilience.

By setting goals, kids will gain valuable life skills that can help them in many areas. By understanding the why behind their goals, setting specific and measurable objectives, and building resilience, they will be well on their way to achieving success.

When the child feels discouraged to continue with the goal?

When a child is feeling discouraged, it's important to talk about

• Why they set the goal in the first place and remind them of what they can accomplish by seeing it through.
• It can also help to break down the overall goal into smaller chunks or milestones that are easier to achieve.
• Reassuring them and providing support as needed is key.
• Remind them that even if they don't reach the final goal in a given time frame, they are still making progress and learning something in the process.
• Understand why they are finding this tough and provide them with resources or advice to help them reach their goal.
• Finally, celebrate small wins and successes along the way as a way of motivating them to keep going. This is especially important for long-term goals which may take a while to be achieved.
  

What if the children realize that the goal is not attainable or needs to be adjusted?

If the children realize that their current goal is not attainable or needs to be adjusted, the first step should be for them to assess why.

Are there any external factors that have changed, or did they overestimate their abilities and have now realized it's too difficult?

Once they have assessed the situation, they should be encouraged to adjust their goal accordingly.

Goals settings can work wonders for self-learners as it will give them a framework to work on and also help track their progress. It helps to build resilience and keeps kids motivated as they can easily see their progress towards the goal which in turn leads to more success in life.

Adi is a free learner, he has a lot of things that interest him like coding, making YouTube videos, exploring new games, etc. He loves to learn new things but lacks structure in his learning process.

Setting goals can help Adi achieve success and reach his desired learning outcomes. It will give him a framework to follow, help him track his progress, and keep him motivated.

There is an interesting article where you can learn more about goal-setting https://www.joinprisma.com/blog/goal-setting-for-kidsgoal-setting

You might find this free template useful in helping your kid come up with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals.

https://www.notion.so/Goal-Template-for-kids-8fa3cc5cf3de4d268a379a158441bb6d

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