Were you able to watch the Online Parenting Class video on Goal Setting With Your Teenager? If not, go here for this short video: https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/149147742/19d2d18580

Let's continue our discussion on how to mentor your teen in their journey toward adulthood by helping them set and achieve goals. Below are some tips for helping your teenager maximize the benefit of smart goal setting throughout their lives.

First, set aside a time once a year to sit down with your teenager and talk about what they are hoping and dreaming for their life in the upcoming year. In preparation for your time together, teach them to pray and ask God to place on their hearts the passions and desires He would have for their lives. During your time together, ask your teenager to share some dreams of what they would like to accomplish in one year’s time. Share with them the old saying, “A goal is just a dream with a deadline!” After your teenager rolls their eyes, you can have them write down three to five goals for the upcoming year.

Second, go over the list of goals with your teenager and make sure they are reasonable. It’s okay for them to be challenging, but if your teenager sets goals that are impossible they may be setting themselves up for disappointment. If your seventh grade basketball player sets a goal to be in the NBA by the end of the year, you might need to help them.

Setting and accomplishing goals will help them become their own best sources for fulfillment. As you begin goal setting with your teenager this week, remember you are giving your child a gift: the ability to thrive in life without us.

Press on in your endeavors to help your teen learn to set goals!

A huge part of raising a teenager is teaching them life skills. One of your jobs as their parent is to do the best you can to prepare them for that time.

Even though your teen may leave his or her dishes on the coffee table every day, scatter his backpack, socks and shoes all over the house, or forget to do the one simple chore you’ve asked him five times to do, not too many years from now, your teenager is going to have a collision with adulthood! Will they be ready?

There are many life skills your teenager needs to know: how to change a spare tire, how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, how to wash clothes, or how to make a bed…the list is endless.

However, one of the greatest skills you can teach your teenager is how to set and reach goals.

When you teach your teenager how to set and reach goals, what you’re really giving them is the ability to live their life intentionally. Goals will help keep your teen focused on what’s important, and allow them to make the best use of their 24 hours each day. When tackled correctly, they will force your teen out of their comfort zone and help them to grow more than they would without them. And, perhaps most importantly, they will give your teen control of their destiny.

Check out this quick video for more:
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/149147742/19d2d18580