Day 37 Ambitions

Day 37. Ambitions:

Your teenager is likely to have their own dreams or ambitions. These are unique to them. Encourage your teen to share their ambitions with you. Help them to work towards their goals. If they know that you are there for them, encouraging and supporting them through life they are likely to share their hopes and dreams with you. It is important that your teen is encouraged to have their own ambitions and goals. It can be tempting to encourage them to follow dreams that you have for them.

Parents and carers can be disapproving and suggest that their teenager's ambition is not realistic or achievable but how can you be certain that this is the case?

It may be that they decide they wish for a career in music but you do not consider that they are very musical. Despite this you can encourage them to explore possible routes to achieving their dream. It may be that they do not succeed in becoming a full time musician but they gain great satisfaction from joining a choir, for example.

Equally, you may have high hopes for them to be an artist while they have little interest in painting.

If your teenager asks your opinion then it is good to be honest with your teen but if they haven't asked your opinion it may be better to listen to them and encourage them to explore the options available to them.

At times your teen may succeed and at other times they experience drawbacks and failure. At these times your help, support and encouragement will be particularly valuable.