Resolutions Are For Everyone

It’s been an annual tradition for as long as there have been calendars. At the end of the year, most adults resolve to begin doing something they should have been doing all along or to change a habit or begin a new one. Resolutions come in all shapes, sizes and levels of difficulty. Something that is not so common is hearing high school students make resolutions of the coming year.

Think about it. If you have a teen in your house, have they said anything about changes they plan to make in 2018? Unless you have an unusually mature teenager, making resolutions for the coming year has likely not entered their mind. You may want to encourage them to think about some of the things they want to change and devise a plan to make it happen.  Help them with strategies that you have found helpful throughout the years. Caution them about trying to change too much at once and not to bite off more than they can chew. Setting their sights on what comes after high school is a good area to focus their energies. Any headway that can be made in this area will pay dividends during and after senior year.

Most parents already know the things that are important to employers. Those same things are important to colleges. Help your child begin honing skills that will serve them whether they are filling out a job application or a college application. If you are self-employed, you know the importance of customer service and getting things right the first time. A student can never be too responsible, polite, thoughtful or time conscious. If these and similar traits are lacking in the skill set of your child, help them to identify areas where improvement will benefit them. It can also serve as one of your resolutions, helping your child focus on things that will help them later in life.