It’s the dream of every parent to see their children prosper. Every parent is happy when their child is at the peak and doing well in life.
It, however, is not a guarantee that the child has to follow a particular line, of course, to get to the peak. Neither is it a fact that the child only has to do what you did as the parent to get where you want them to be.
Come on, who told you the child wants to be a teacher or a lawyer like you? Things are not the same anymore. Education systems are diversifying and expanding.
The creation of new jobs and opportunities is changing the way individuals make their career choices. The 21st-century kids are not the type to be subjected out of passion, especially with the now many platforms that allow them to be confident and vibrant to go for their passion.
It’s okay to direct your child on what to do but it will never be okay to dictate that they must do it. A good parent gives the child an opportunity and a chance to choose from a variety of what to do based on their strengths.
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Some parents still believe that their choices are the best especially when it comes to choosing a career for their child right after secondary school.
But not just that, it begins at the secondary level where you see some parents telling their kids that they must take physics or business studies and history for example to pave way for a business course when they finally get admitted in the university.
Out of frustration, the child will take the physic course, yes but it will not be for him. And since it’ll be for you he won’t care to work for it, and even if he does it will never be beneficial because at the back of his mind he is thinking about something else and for the rest of his life he will be missing something.
Some parents want their children to take a particular career because their friends or the children of their friends took the same career path and became successful.
Do you take time to consider what your child wants? What is your relationship with him and how well do you know his strengths and weaknesses?
Well, a fact is that most parents do not have a healthy parent-child relationship to enable them to know their children that well. Most of the time the child makes independent decisions since the parent is only waiting for the result.
I have seen parents who believe that their children must go to universities for a successful career. Okay, it’s not such a bad thing to want that for him/her but what is his potential? And if they make it to the university, what is the quality of the career chosen for them. Is it a good career? Is it what he wants? And are you able to pay for the same at that level?
Maybe as a parent, you’re not aware of the quality of the offered course. This is where career guidance and counseling expert comes in. They will help you and your child make a shift from the general understanding of life and work to a more specific understanding of the realistic and practical career options that are available to the child.
And for many students who want to further their studies, most of their parents always think technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges are not the best as compared to a university.
The good news is that TVET colleges can be very beneficial to an individual looking at an alternative study path and to attain the skills required by the economy, especially if you cannot afford the cost of a parallel course in the university.
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Some diploma or even certificate courses may be better than degree courses offered but because the parent is misinformed or simply wants to show off and wants her child to take up a degree course, she will assume the not quality part. She is happy because her daughter is at the university and doesn’t care about the rest.
What parents ought to do is to guide their children on better career paths and not impose their ideas and needs by force. The success that we desire for our children will fall on them no matter where they are.
It’s within and not at the place, so whether he takes his course at the TVET or in the university, if he has passion, believes, and works for it, he will make it.
Let the future success of their career become the result of good parental guidance, interest, and passion for what they do.