5 Steps for Teaching Your Children to Set Goals and Succeed!
October 8th 2008 PTA Parent Newsletter

Goal setting is for anyone who wants to achieve something. Children as young as five can be taught to set simple goals that yield quick results. This skill will help your children and prepare them for adult life! The important thing is to instill the habit of setting goals, and show them how to plan their actions to achieve them. Here are five steps to start teaching goal setting to your children:

1. Define the goal: Help your children define their goal and what they want to achieve. Do not set goals for your children! Your job is to listen, and help them find and define what THEY want to do even if it doesn't mean a lot to you. Their goal might be learning a new sport or musical instrument, or even simply baking a cake or getting an "A" in math or history.
2. Put it on paper: Ask your child to write their goal down or draw a picture of their goal the way they see it on a piece of paper. You can then put it on a wall or a door where they can see it every day, and everyone else can see it to support the idea.
3. Lay Out an Action Plan: Help them understand the importance of having a plan. Ask them how much time do they want to put into it every day, who do they want to talk to that could help them succeed, and do they need to read or educate themselves to achieve the goal?  Help them create a road map showing how they plan to get to their destination, and set a date for goal to be reached.
4. Teach persistence: Help your child when they get discouraged and frustrated. This is when they learn to overcome failure. Talk about the lessons they learn when they face challenges to achieve their goals. Encourage them to visualize success in their mind every day, create excitement during the process and keep them motivated until they achieve their goal. Give your children the motto of "when you believe it you can achieve it!"
5. Celebrate success: Acknowledge your child's good work and celebrate success! Prepare an appropriate and meaningful reward. You know your child and can find ways to reward them that can create great memories, like taking them to an event or a game - it doesn't always have to be material!

When you teach the process of goal setting it is essential for your children to see you as their role models. They learn from you and what you do more than what you tell them to do. Share your own goals with your family and brainstorm with them when you create your personal action plan. Get them involved and practice mutual support in helping each other out for success! This way the benefits of goal setting and hard work are clear to the whole family, and you can all share in the rewards!