The Homeschool Resource

• Goal setting is an easily overlooked skill that is important to teach.

• Letting your child set goals that interest or benefit them, helping them break their goals down into manageable steps, reviewing their progress with them, and celebrating their accomplishments will help your child learn a skill that will benefit them throughout their life.

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Why is Setting Goals an Important Life Skill to Teach?

Throughout your lifetime, there are many goals that you will strive to achieve. Good grades in school, saving up to buy a car, progression on a sports team, that promotion at work; all of these are goals that you work towards. However, knowing how to set an achievable goal and being able to determine the steps necessary to reach it are not innately known. This is why teaching children and teens how to set reachable goals and how to break them down into manageable steps is an important life lesson.

How to Teach Goal Setting?

Teaching your children about goal setting and how to reach their goals is not really a sit-down-and-teach-it kind of lesson. It requires a more hands-on, do-and-learn type of teaching. Here are some ways to help your child learn the ins-and-outs of goal setting.

• Let them choose the goal.
• Break it down.
• Set checkpoints.
• Discuss possible obstacles.
• Review progress.
• Practice patience and provide encouragement.

Let Them Choose the Goal

When speaking to your child about setting goals, it is important that you let them choose goals of their own. Not only will they strive harder to achieve a goal that they have set for themselves, but they are more likely to hold themselves accountable for it. With a little guidance from you, let them choose long-term and/or short-term goals that interest them. Sometimes you may need to give them a couple of examples of your own goals to get them thinking critically. The goals that they set for themselves should be attainable but slightly out of reach. Talk with them about their goals and their reasons for choosing those goals. You will also want to make sure that their goals are in line with their age and developmental level. For more visual learners, creating a ‘dream board’ or a ‘goal board’ may help them better visualize their goals. Have them create a ‘board’ (using a poster board or a cork board) where they can put pictures or write words representing and describing their goals. These boards can be hung in their room where they will be a constant reminder of what they are working towards.

Break Goals Down into Smaller Steps

Goals, especially larger, long-term goals, can feel overwhelming, especially to a child. Help them see the goal as more easily achievable by breaking goals into smaller steps. In essence, help your child create an action plan for each of their goals. Steps should be listed in chronological order and be small enough to be reasonably easy to complete. These steps can be better visualized by creating a ‘goal ladder’. Print out or have your child draw a ladder, write the goal at the top, and then have them write down the steps (1 per rung) to get to their goal. Each step achieved can then be colored or marked off to show their progress towards their goal.

Set Checkpoints

            Setting checkpoints is another important teaching lesson for setting goals. While breaking down a goal into smaller steps is helpful, setting checkpoints is crucial. They are important because they help keep your child motivated by reviewing what they have accomplished, and they give them a reason to celebrate. Checkpoints are also for reflection of their journey and allow for any adjustments to their course that may be needed. You can help your child set checkpoints on either a time-based or step-based manner depending on the goal.

Discuss Possible Obstacles

           Not all goals are going to be easy and straight forward to achieve. Talking to your child about possible obstacles that could derail their progress and how to adapt to them will help them immensely on their journey. They need to know how to be flexible, how to adjust the steps, checkpoints, and the goal itself if necessary. Also discuss with your child the reasons for possible derailment or even failure, both internal and external. Internal struggles could include a lack of motivation, procrastination, and self-doubt. External struggles might be lack of resources, time constraints, or distractions. Any of these individually can cause your child to either give up on their goal or can set them back significantly. The risk grows the more obstacles that are piled on. Talk through ways that they can get back on track after experiencing a struggle and make sure that you are listening to their concerns.

Review Progress

           In addition to the set checkpoints, take time out occasionally to review their progress with them. Let them take the lead on how they are progressing and what still needs to be done to reach their goals. If they are falling behind, collaborate with them on how to get back on track. If they are on schedule or even ahead of where they thought they would be, make sure to praise and celebrate their achievements. Reviewing progress regularly also allows for quick course correction when things go awry.  

Show Patience and Give Encouragement

         Learning how to do any skill takes time and practice, and this includes learning how to set and meet goals. Showing patience, both with your child and their goals and with yourself and your goals, sets a great example for your child. Also make sure that you are giving encouragement and positive reinforcement. This includes both encouragement for achievements made as well as the encouragement to continue striving for their goal. Praise efforts made toward reaching their goals, both big and small. Your encouragement will motivate them to continue working towards their goal and to shake off any mishaps along the way.

         Goal setting is a skill which can easily be overlooked when homeschooling. However, it is important to teach as it a skill that your child will use throughout their life. Letting them set goals that interest or benefit them, helping them break the goal down into manageable steps, reviewing their progress with them, and celebrating their accomplishments will help your child learn to achieve any goals that they set.

Have you started working with your child to help them set and reach their goals? If so, please share some ideas and tips with the community in the comments below.