Setting Goals
Teaching children to set realistic goals and work towards achieving them is very
important. When students achieve a goal, they feel very proud of themselves. The
following are tips and strategies for helping your child set and reach a goal.
When setting a goal, it is helpful to write the goal. This serves as a visual reminder and it
can be posted somewhere in their home where it can be seen. When writing a goal, they
should be written with positive words and the goal should relate to themselves rather then
others.
Help your child brainstorm strategies to reach their goal. Once those ideas are
brainstormed, the goal can be broken into smaller steps in order to attain it. Some goals
may be short term goals and some may become long term goals. It is important to make
the goals realistic and manageable. This will help your child feel less overwhelmed and
more successful in reaching their goal.
Talk with your child about the progress they are making in order to meet their goal and
celebrate their accomplishments. Find out what they learned along the way. If they have
difficulty achieving a goal, talk with them about what they could do differently next time.
Praise them for their effort in setting a goal and working towards it. Setting and reaching
goals helps build their confidence. It lets them know that they can accomplish a task.