Helping Children Set Age-Appropriate Goals
The New Year has arrived, and many of us have set lofty resolutions. Anything from working out daily to saving money to losing weight, our society knows how to dream big!
However, when we don’t break big dreams down into smaller, achievable goals, failure often ensues. And to make matters worse, our children watch us throughout this short-lived endeavor.
So how can we teach our children to be excited about making personal changes while ensuring the goals are age-appropriate and attainable? It all starts with a desire to accomplish something new or change something you currently do.
When we help children with this process, it is essential to find out what they wish to achieve, and not just project what we want for them. Each goal then needs to be written down and broken up into smaller, short term steps that have specific time-based objectives.
Completing these small, attainable steps will keep the momentum going, and tracking their progress will help them see how much they have improved. Checking in with them and reevaluating goals will also help ensure personal success.
Within our Life SKILL program, is our unique Goal Setting Method, which is a component that students of all ages learn and benefit from greatly.
Life Skill students learn how to set attainable goals that are realistic for their stage of development.
When we help children set goals and apply active learning in the process, it helps them learn responsibility and focus as well as time management skills.
For younger children, it is a way to set expectations that they can learn. For older children, it is a way to prompt a more mature understanding of goal setting, and they can set longer-term goals as well.
Accomplishing goals at any age will help increase children’s self-esteem and self-awareness.
But keep in mind, throughout this process, there will ups and downs. When things don’t go as planned, children may feel frustrated. It is vital to celebrate all achievements, no matter how small.
Remind them often that they are making improvements, no matter what the outcome is. Make sure that you help your child document all of these small wins by using posters or goal ladders. Whether or not the goal is met in the timeframe initially set, make sure to applaud all effort that your child has shown.
It can also be helpful to discuss exactly why something went wrong, and to make adjustments to the goal. This will help teach resiliency, and the ability to pivot without losing momentum.
Goal setting can be an exciting thing but can also be overwhelming, especially for children. When we help them write their goals down and make them into easily attainable small goals, we help them build their confidence.
Celebrating their effort and perseverance throughout the process will help them continue to feel motivated. The result will be a life skill that will help them become successful adults.
To learn more about the powerful Life Skill childhood development program that uses martial arts as the vehicle for growth, or to get your child started at our Millbury location, click the button below:
Life Skill Martial Arts
322 Millbury Avenue 
Millbury, MA 01527
https://www.lifeskillma.com
Author: Jennifer Salama of Skillz Worldwide.
Jennifer is a 4th-degree black belt and has been training in martial arts since 2001. She has a Masters Degree in Child Psychology. She has embraced the SKILLZ curriculum because of its focus on child development and using martial arts as a vehicle to develop the child as a whole.
ABOUT US
Welcome to Life Skill Martial Arts! Conveniently located in Millbury MA, Life Skill Martial Arts provides high quality martial arts training classes to the residents of Millbury , Worcester , Grafton , Shrewsbury, Auburn and the surrounding areas, including Sutton , Uxbridge , and Northbridge. We have a few simple goals here. However, we put 110% of our effort into achieving them. In short, these goals have but one purpose:
To give you the best possible martial arts training and fitness experience we possibly can. Everything we do works toward this goal.