Adolescence is a stage of maturity during which great changes take place in the body and mind of your children. It is a time of transcendental decision-making, but also of constant doubts. Your son will reach a turning point where he must answer the following question: What do I want to be when I grow up? At first, the normal thing is not to be sure of the answer, unless he has been influenced by a determination of his parents.
The search for a professional path is a trance that belongs to your child and on which no one else should interfere. It will be difficult for both of you to avoid fear and confusion, but what you are allowed as a parent is to accompany your child in this long process that begins with the choice to carry out certain studies. It is important that feelings of support and calm characterize this stage because, despite the fact that vocations are sometimes late, fortunately there are many options and paths.
From secondary to high school, the centers are preparing students in a certain way to choose one path or another. The possibilities that open up for young people are multiple possibilities: medium or higher vocational training, degrees, double degrees… It is common for the academic institutions themselves to hold open days in which they promote and make studies visible. Encourage your child to attend this type of meeting, which can be complemented later with a consultation with the institute’s academic counselor. Of course, keep in mind that the more options it covers, the more difficult the decision will be.
At the same time, he remains attentive to their interests and tries to encourage them. Inquiring into their abilities, in everything that they are good at or in what stands out can give you new ideas. Personal tastes must be the other leg that balances the decision, and not the topic of what has ‘more outputs’ is a mistake, since your child must choose the studies with which he has the best chance of feeling satisfied in the long term . This should be enough for your son to draw up a preliminary list of her course and destination preferences—this is something he will have to do sooner or later. Information is power and as such, you can always search for the study programs and check the references of people who have taken them on the Internet, which will help you rule out.
It is essential that you also be clear about what you should not do if your child is deciding what he wants to be when he grows up. Keep in mind that there is no wrong decision, since most of the time, true interest is awakened during the academic stage, thanks to the opportunities that your child will have, for example, to do an internship.
Trust in your child is a key factor in not making this process more complicated than it really is. Avoid putting pressure on him and give him time to decide. And if later what he wants to do is not what he expected, your son has the right to go back and choose another path.
