As parents, we’re constantly working to place our kids on the right path - but what’s at the end of that path?

It’s worth taking a moment every now and then to think through what your child is striving for. Success in school isn’t necessarily the same as success in life. Are you constantly talking about financial rewards? Material goods? Or do you work toward less tangible things like making good decisions or being a good person?

It’s important for kids to realize that success doesn’t necessarily mean achieving a stated goal, it’s figuring out how that goal and others work together to define your life path. Ask your child/ren what success means to them - it might just surprise you.

Start goal setting at home. It can be both eye opening and empowering for children to set their own goals - and almost anything can be turned into a goal! For example, the number of push-ups you can do, how long you can read silently, how long it takes to do the dishes, etc.

Try something straightforward to start and see how your child responds. Don’t forget to talk it through when the results come in. Some children like to be optimistic and may predict they can do 15 push ups when they can only do 3. This is a great opportunity to talk about short and long term goals. In this situation you could work with your child to set a goal of 5 push ups by the end of the week and 15 push ups by the end of a few weeks or a month. Can you imagine how powerful it feels for a child to realize that they can fail to achieve something immediately, but when they work at it they can do it?

Goal setting is a wonderful family activity. It is important for children to understand that parents have goals too - and that adults take risks and fail too. Don’t be afraid to be a little vulnerable, to try and not succeed at something. If you set a goal that you care about and are willing to work at, and then your child sees that you work on it and achieve it, that is a very powerful lesson.

See how your child responds to goal setting. It may be just the thing to spark them to better effort, higher achievement (in whatever), and a feeling of self-empowerment. If it is, then be sure to nurture it with additional goal setting activities. We have invisible goals in our minds all of the time. This tip can help make the goal setting process more transparent and more ‘controllable’ - increasing understanding, motivation, and life satisfaction for your child.