A goal is a dream that you know how to go towards. Why learn to set goals from first grade and how to do it right? Says Yekaterina Surzhikova, an expert at the Uchi.ru educational platform, one of the authors of the flexible skills course “I’ll manage everything.”
What is a goal?
There is a big difference between “I want to learn how to run fast” and “I want to run 10 km in an hour at the Moscow marathon”. There are many questions to the first formulation: what is fast when I want? The second is much clearer: the goal is concrete, it has a term and other limiting criteria. The concept of a goal must necessarily include a concrete idea of it and an understanding of the means by which it will be implemented.
Why is the child setting goals
It’s useful to pump planning and goal-setting skills from elementary school: by the fourth grade, children begin to develop critical and abstract thinking, the concept of a time frame is formed: the children begin to operate with the concepts “at the end of the year”, “until the middle of the quarter” and measure them.
The sooner goal setting becomes a familiar skill, the easier it will be for the child in the future: you won’t have to spend time and effort concentrating, trying to systematize your actions and organize effective work. When it will be necessary to plan admission to the university, to identify career and financial goals, organization will already become a habit.
“Unlike narrow-profile technical skills, flexible skills, which include goal-setting, allow you to be in demand on the labor market regardless of specialty or diploma, including allowing you to change activities, staying afloat.”
Ksenia Nazarenko, CEO of Corporate University Training and Development Hub
At first glance, there are not many situations in a child’s life when you need to set goals. In fact, this is not so: to make a school project, organize your schedule, to keep up with everything you study and leave time for fun, to achieve a specific sports result - there are many options.
Flexible skills that are associated with general organization, planning, goal setting, time management make the child's life a little easier. Part of the daily routine tasks - like homework - children stop perceiving negatively. If you can organize your time during the day, then you don’t worry how to get everything done: you already have a plan.
Scooter Purchase Plan: Steps to a Specific Goal
The more specific the goal, the more realistic it is to achieve it. Create the image of the desired result and work with the child the following questions:
https://stepik.org/course/64943/promo
What do I want to do? The goal must be formulated action. Not just “I want a scooter”, but “I want to buy a scooter” / “I want to get a scooter as a gift” / “I want to win a scooter in a sports competition” / “I want to save on a scooter”. For wording, it is better to use perfect verbs: not “swim well”, but “swim”, not “save”, but “accumulate”.
When? Set time limits and decide by what time the child plans to buy a scooter. “I want to buy a scooter” is wrong. “I want to buy a scooter by the beginning of summer” - much more precisely.
What will be the result? Identify specific signs of what you want. Is this a specific scooter model? Or should it meet certain criteria (color, brand, functional characteristics)? Is it sold in a nearby sports store, or need to be ordered from abroad? This will help you navigate the money and resources that will be required to get a scooter. The more information about the desired result, the more specific the goal and the easier it is to move to it.
One of the most popular goal setting tools - SMART - can be used here, adapted for the child. Try to keep your goal:
detailed (pink scooter of brand N from the store opposite);
by forces (the child is able to save on a scooter, but not a luxury foreign car);
have a term (the goal must be achieved by a specific period).
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How parents can help
Do with your child! If the child is just learning to set goals or is doing it for the first time, try to set a common goal and go towards it together.
Do in parallel. Classic: if you want to teach a child something - show it with your own example. Set two goals with the same deadlines: let the child buy a scooter, and you have a promotion at work. Go to goals in parallel, periodically checking progress.
Move gradually. If the goal seems too big, measure the steps towards it. At each stage, help the child analyze whether he is moving in the right direction.
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