Saturday, 29 March 2014

Help Your Children Wish Upon that Star

Who doesn't remember a time when they were young and wished upon a star?  Do you remember the hopes and expectations you had waiting for your wish to come true?  Why not evoke these same feelings in your own children?

Children can wish for so many different things these days.  They may wish to visit Disney World or they may want to spend the summer camping.  Or they may want something smaller such as a new toy.

Instead of wishing upon that star you can encourage your children to turn this wish into a goal.  Get them to write down this new goal and then together you can figure out how they can reach their goal.

Remember that it is never too early to teach your children the benefits of setting goals.  If you set your own goal at the same time you can show them that it is acceptable to change and tweak your goal as you go along.  It is very common for a goal to start as one thing and along the way it develops into something different.

The entire process of setting goals and reaching them can help your children in many different ways.  This includes helping them improve their self-esteem and self worth, and helping them boost their confidence levels.

In addition to the above benefits they will learn that they can reap rewards from setting goals.  This also helps them with developing a sense of purpose that will carry through the rest of their lives.

Setting goals either by wishing on a star or writing them down will show your children that they can have certain things that they want.  They will discover that the process can be fun and that dreams can and do come true.

Younger children will probably love the aspect of wishing upon a star while older kids will benefit more by writing them out and creating actionable steps.  Just remember to help your children make this a fun process along the way.  If the goal is too lofty you’ll need to help them break out the smaller steps that eventually lead to their larger goal.

Encourage older children to visualize themselves with what they are trying to achieve.  They may want to be able to shoot lots of baskets without missing.  Get them to visualize this as they close their eyes and see themselves shooting those baskets.

Another way to help your children reach their goal is by planning out their goals in more detail.  This can be done by creating more of a step by step plan with them.  This way they can see exactly what they have to do, and in what order, to achieve their goals.

During this process your children will see that wishes do come true by using a plan of action.  They will see that abstract desires and wishes can become a reality, especially when they decide to take action and do something about it.

Getting your children to set goals is an extremely powerful thing and something that will benefit them during their entire lifetime.  They will learn how to make plans, set goals and carry them out.  You are putting power into your child's hands.

These techniques can be applied to many different situations including doing homework, learning a new skill and taking exams.  Older children can plan out their steps for going to college and for choosing a career by making related goals.

Making wishes and setting goals can easily become a family affair.  Get everyone involved and see if you can't develop one strong goal or commitment for the entire family.


  1. Thank you, very thoughtful & helpful. I see a road map already for my children's future.

  2. Thank you. Good idea. I'll talk to my children today.