Setting Goals: How to Help Young Children Set Goals
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Subject Line: Setting Goals: How to Help Young Children Set Goals
Dear Parents,
Setting goals may seem to be an activity only for adults or teens, but did you know children can learn to set goals too? Even though they don’t have the abstract muscle yet to understand the full concept, they can start small with a few disciplines.
In less than five minutes, learn how to help your child take baby steps to build the confidence they need in themselves. Click the link below to view the video.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/495600202/30ab64437a
If you and your child have success in this area, please let us know! We would love to celebrate with you.
If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out.
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Subject Line: Did you know your children can set goals?
Did you know children have the ability to do incredible things? They can even learn how to set goals as young as the age of five. Using the old school paper chain, help your child build confidence in himself or herself. To learn more, click the link below.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/495600202/30ab64437a
As your church, we continue to support you through the parenting journey. Please let me know if you ever need anything.
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VIDEO
SOCIAL MEDIA SWAG
Setting goals isn’t just for adults or college students! Young children can learn too. Check your inbox for more.
Children, as early as 5 & 6, can learn the small habits of setting goals. Learn more in our new parent video!
Does your child need confidence? Teach them how to set a small, measurable goal, then encourage them along the way. Learn more in our new parent video.
We have a new parent video for parents of young children. Using the old school paper chain, learn how to inspire confidence in your child. Check your inbox for more.
VIDEO SCRIPT
Talking about goals with young children can almost seem impossible because they are so young and are unable to process an abstract concept. But at the same time, setting goals is proven to help young children develop confidence in themselves. So today, I give you two practical ways to help teach children- young children- how to set goals so that they can feel good and confident about themselves.
Number one is you want to help them think through one wish or goal and make sure this is realistic and attainable for younger children like five or six-year-olds.
It might be… “I want to learn how to brush my teeth on my own without my parents reminding me.” Or for older kids, like a fifth-grader heading into middle school, might be, “I would like to try out for my middle school volleyball team or basketball team.”
So help them think through one attainable wish or goal. To do that, have them take some construction paper and write it out on a sheet of paper, have a marker, and write out that one goal.
The second step is to help them think through the steps it will take to achieve the goal. So if they want to brush their teeth on their own, the first step might be…we need to put your toothbrush and toothpaste right beside each other in a drawer where you can reach. This is Step One. Then take a little scratch sheet of paper, and you make the old school paper chain. Begin to take it, and put it together. Write down to put the toothbrush and toothpaste together in a drawer. And that is Step One.
Now make step two. Well, let’s set a little reminder by your bed like a picture or a chart. You make this a step and create it a paper chain, too.
Eventually, make this paper chain, and as they reach each step, they get to take the paper chain off, and you celebrate with them. You did it, Step One! And then when they get to step two, you did it (!) and then step three (!).
When they’re finally doing it on their own, and they’ve reached their goal, you celebrate as a family with your child. Even at the young age of five and six, you can teach your children how to set goals.
As they do this, you want to start small so that it’s attainable for them and it’s realistic. But then, as they get older, you begin to put the wishes and goals up just a little bit further. What you’re doing at this point, as a parent, is you’re training them on how to build confidence in themselves so that they can do it and they can accept responsibility.
You know this as a parent that when they get into middle school and high school, they can’t control whether or not they make their middle school team. They can’t control whether or not they got the role in the play. But what they can control is the fact that they took steps to achieve the availability and access to shoot for the bigger goals and the bigger wishes and the bigger dreams.
When you help young children set goals, you’re laying a foundation for what they can do in middle school and high school. I’ll leave you with this verse. In Proverbs 16:9, it says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
So imagine as you’re raising your young children, if you begin to teach them, “Hey, let’s set our goals, but let’s hold them loosely because we want to be able to support you as a child, to go for your goals, your dreams, your wishes. But we must always remember that we hold on to them and we can make our plans. But the Lord determines our steps.” These two concrete ways are how you can help your children set goals. It’s just one more way on how you can pass down your faith to your children.