My children’s performance last term was unimpressive, yet they seem to be unbothered about it. I tried to figure out what I did wrong or where we all got it all wrong as a family. It is simple. We just flowed with the event of things without clarity on what to do and how to arrive at the expected destination. This year what are we doing differently? We are setting a goal!
Every parent’s dream is to see their children grow responsible and be successful. These things will not happen overnight. It starts with first having realistic expectations and putting the work towards achieving them.
This year, we have resolved to set specific academic targets for what we want to accomplish. This will give us direction and help us stay on course.
Are you also looking to up your child’s performance this year? This will involve a mix of deliberate, conscious, intentional, yet painstaking processes you must be willing to undergo.
Here are some strategies you should adopt.
- Start with helping them understand the concept of goal setting
It will be difficult to just start asking your kids to set goals without understanding the essence and importance of doing so. To have a goal, they must understand what a goal is and what it will do for them. In a way that a child will easily grasp, a goal is something that a person wants to achieve over a particular period. Secondly, a goal is not a goal until a person writes it down and charts a way of achieving it. If your child loves football, ask him or her how do you win a football game (Of course, by scoring more goals than your opponent). So, all your attention in a football match is geared towards scoring more goals. So, if you want to do well in your class, you must put in the work.
- Identify areas of improvement;
If your child has always scored low in Maths, this is an area that must be improved. Improving in this area might mean that as a parent, you would have to devote more time to ensure that they complete their Maths assignment on time or hiring a tutor for extra coaching.
- Show your kids how;
Now that your child knows what goals are and is seeking ways towards achieving these goals. It will make a lot of sense if your kid sees you as a guide rather than a master. In other words, seek engaging ways of improving your kid’s abilities in Maths.
Remember, the main aim is to help your child set and achieve goals, which is basically what guides do. Your child would understand how important these goals are not only to himself but to you, the parent when you continuously motivate the child by going out of your comfort zone to bring to reality goals you had written down.
Solving assignments and explaining challenging problems during weekends are ways you can adopt to ensure your child doesn’t feel lonely trying to achieve the goal of improving in Maths.
- Brainstorm potential obstacles/Reality check
As adults, expectations sometimes could be very different from reality. Invariably, what you project could be different from what you get. Therefore achieving your kid’s goals would require some measure of projection. How? Get involved in the thought process., look at the surrounding and eliminate possible factors which could make your child lose focus or serve as a distraction.
- Monitor Progress/Review
Ensure you constantly monitor, review and evaluate your kid’s activities to check for performance and improvement. Just like every strategy requires review and evaluation to ascertain performance, your child is no different.
Apart from performance, reviewing helps your child to remain focused and get clarity when they feel confused.
In conclusion, your child would live a purposeful, productive, and successful life if the right steps are taken to ensure that they understand their goals, set them, and actively work towards achieving them. Feel free to comment on other tips you think would help achieve and set goals for children. Don’t forget sharing is caring. ?
