•  

    Contact Now | Schedule an Appointment

    9099 Ridgefield Rd, Ste. 101, | Frederick, MD 21701
    office@connectioncounselingcenter.com | (301) 788-9403

    • Facebook
  • Andy Ferguson | www.connectioncounselingcenter.com

    • Home
    • Our Team
    • Services
    • Testimonals
      • Share Your Feedback
    • Getting Started
      • FAQs
      • Rates and Insurance
      • Appointment Request
    • Resources
      • Recent News
      • Mental Health Links
      • Physical Health Links
    • Patient Portal
    • Blog
    • Contact

    4 Steps for Setting Academic Goals with Your Child

    January 14, 2020

    When children are taught how to set and achieve goals, they learn that decisions have consequences and that hard work earns rewards. As your child sets and works towards academic goals, their self-confidence will grow, and they’ll take pride in themselves and their achievements. They will learn how to focus, how to prioritize, and ultimately how to make better decisions.

    Step 1: Explain

    To take advantage of all that goal-setting has to offer, start working on this with your child as soon as they’re old enough – typically around age eight.

    Explain to your child what goals are. Describe how people achieve goals as a result of a great deal of hard work. Help them understand the long-term importance of academic success, no matter what field they should choose to go to in the future.

    Step 2: Brainstorm

    Your child may or may not be aware of their own academic strengths and weaknesses. When setting goals, remember that it’s important to keep them specific, realistic, and attainable. Academic goals can include achieving certain grades in certain subjects, staying focused in class, or completing homework at a certain time.

    Be sure to stay as quiet as possible while brainstorming, allowing your child to come up with their own ideas. If their goals are unrealistic, steer them toward something more achievable. If their goals are too big or long-term, help them break it down into a first step toward the long-term goal.

    Step 3: Track

    As author Harvey Mackay once said, “A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline.” Once your child has decided on a couple of goals, write them down and track their progress. You may wish to break each goal down into achievable, specific steps, each step with its own deadline. Set aside a block of time on a weekly or monthly basis to check-in on your child’s progress. Make the check-in is special to help your child stay motivated and focused. For example, you can take them to lunch at the park or a favorite restaurant. Discuss their progress, help them with any difficulties they may have and remind them why they set their goals.

    Step 4: Celebrate

    Celebrate when your child achieves a goal. It can be an outing, their favorite meal, or a small gift. Then, work with them on setting the next set of goals. Even if your child didn’t meet their goal, likely they learned some lessons and made some progress along the way.

    Remind your child that failure is something every person experiences in life: we don’t always achieve the goals we set. Sometimes our biggest success comes by learning from mistakes and trying again. Encourage your child to never give up on dreams that are important to them.

     

    Does your child need help achieving academic success? One of our trained professionals can help them accomplish their goals. Give our office a call at your earliest convenience to set up an appointment.

    Filed Under: School & Academics

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


    9099 Ridgefield Rd, Ste. 101,
    Frederick, MD 21701

    8640 Guilford Rd., Ste 251,
    Columbia, MD 21046

    (301) 788-9403
    office@connectioncounselingcenter.com

    Contact Today


    Information submitted via this form is encrypted for privacy with the latest technology.





    Connection Counseling Center
    office@connectioncounselingcenter.com | (301) 788-9403

    A Website by Brighter Vision | Privacy Policy

    Due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 virus, we are currently only seeing clients via telehealth. We continue to welcome new clients during this time. Please call or email our office for more information.