Should I Let My Son Study Whatever He Wants?
The choice of college career is one of the most difficult for any individual. It starts from the fact that, many times, adolescents have not discovered what they are passionate about or are not aware of their strengths and weaknesses; therefore, they do not know what to choose. What to do as a parent? Should I let my son study whatever he wants?
The vast majority of students leaving high school do not know what to study in college or what profession is the most suitable for their lives. Many make that decision thinking about the tastes of the moment.
Another reason is usually that they want to maintain the same social circle in the faculty, or to follow wrong social precepts, such as those that say the best careers are medicine or engineering.
Faced with such a complex issue, which brings headaches within the home, we present some considerations. The idea is to always avoid frustration in young people, or even university school dropouts, which tend to be around 30% of those enrolled.
Should I let my child study whatever he wants?
The answer to this question is yes. It is considered that it cannot be in any way healthy for parents to force their children to study against their will; there is no doubt that their performance will not be optimal if they have to attend classes about something they do not like.
What the school guides are also clear about is that choosing a profession is not an easy task. School and home must work together well in advance to prepare the adolescent for his future career.
Now, there are many factors that influence this decision; They range from the fleeting tastes of the adolescent, the reluctance to discard the bonds of friendship with their peers or mistakenly following in the footsteps of their parents, without really analyzing whether they like that profession or if they will be able to carry it out.
Based on these ideas, the help that parents can provide to adolescents can be summarized in four steps, also taking into account aspects of the youth’s character and suggested careers.
Aspects to consider
The two aspects to consider in order to guide the adolescent correctly are:
- Know the character, abilities and skills of the adolescent without falling into deception.
- Evaluate the school record of the young person of at least his last three years to be able to identify in which educational areas he presents a better performance.
How to guide this decision through four steps
1. Talk
Once the two aspects discussed above have been identified, it is important to have several very candid conversations. In them, a list of their skills, abilities and academic history has to be made in order to know their possibilities in a real way, whether they choose scientific, medical or humanistic areas.
It is important that your child feel free to openly discuss these issues openly. As a responsible adult, you must be there to listen to him and to make him feel understood and supported with his decision.
2. Take the vocational test
After discussing their strengths and weaknesses, it is recommended that the young person take a vocational exam to help define their educational tendencies definitively.
These tests can be carried out by attending the school guide offices, or via the internet, verifying that the account has the seriousness of the endorsement of an educational institution.
3. Visit work areas
Young people often have a romantic idea about certain careers. Therefore, a third very important step is to take the adolescents to the offices of an accountant, designer, engineer, or hospital room. Thus, you will be able to verify – at least in a superfluous way – what is the day to day performance of that profession.
4. Choice of university
The choice of the university is also a fundamental step for the young person to feel independent and comfortable carrying out their studies. Review with him the best options that meet your needs.
As a final point, you should take into account that many young people do not want to start their university studies immediately and can postpone them for up to two years. However, this will not necessarily be a negative thing, as it can give your child more time and maturity to get his life on track.
