Hints & Tips

Parents: how you can help your teenagers

Many students find it difficult to envision their future - to know where they are going. They don't have enough experience about their options; or they have preconceived ideas about the 'only' career they want. Often this is based on what a parent or friend is doing. In reality, each student has to make decisions based on one very real issue: Who am I?

Your child is a unique individual, hardwired in ways that make them distinct. They may have some of the strengths and talents - maybe even some of the interests - acquired from you, but they will also have some that are unique to themselves. So, how can you help them to decide which 'road' to take to college/university/work?

Exam results are important, but so is learning about who your child is, what they do well and what they enjoy.

• What are their natural strengths?
• What are they good at?
• What comes easily to them?
• What activities are more difficult?
• How do they learn best and solve problems?

Whether your teenager has a definite sense of what they want to study, or whether they are feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of making educational choices, these steps are clear:

Help them to:

• identify their natural abilities
• consider their interests
• formulate two or three reasonable choices
• begin to focus on those choices
• start getting hands-on experience in the areas chosen

This is just a flavour of how taking The Highlands Ability Battery and working with us can help to make the best choices for now and the future.