Upon asking a child what they want to do or become when they grow up, their answer often points to or is indicative of turning a passion or hobby into a career option. Their choice most often is also reflective of the hobbies or professions of their parents or caregivers around them. For instance, the likes of artists, dancers, singers, cricketers, doctors, sous chefs are all extremely common responses. However, we know that our options have transcended this. Given the plethora of options available to your child, there can be a great deal of confusion or hesitation involved in the decision-making process of picking that one right option. Is it music learning online or picking up a new language - the list is endless. 

What if you made the wrong choice or what if your child realizes that their penchant for the career path in question is headed towards depletion? Add to this the much-debated topic: Is it wise to monetize a passion and make it a career option? All in all, the struggle is real!

While it is true that a greater number of choices heralds greater uncertainty, there are several ways to optimize the decision-making process for your child to help them reach closer to their goals. 

Here’s how you can help your child: 

1. Little bit of a lot: Diversification of choices from early on plays an extremely crucial role. Think of it as the menu of a multi-cuisine cafe; you have the option of picking a little bit from among a lot of different platters. Similarly, if your child is exposed to a diverse range of activities from a young age, they will be able to assess and weigh out their options in a better fashion.

There are few skills and activities that are evergreen regardless of whether they turn into a career option. As a Collaroy, certain activities provide your child with life skills that are transferable across different fields. Therefore, choosing one or two activities each from different streams such as music courses, western, classical, or semi-classical dance classes for kids, art, academia, online foreign language courses, culinary arts, and speech and drama classes can prove to be beneficial for your child in the long run. 

An effective way of achieving this is by finding online courses that help your child discover where their strength and passion truly lie or by speaking to a guidance counselor.

2. ​Streamline the list: Now that your child has participated in various activities, you should encourage them to narrow down their top picks. This could be based on a combination of what they find interesting and what they’re steady at. Don’t worry even if these choices seem interdisciplinary. You’d be surprised to see how seemingly unorthodox combinations help your child flourish in the future.

3. Psychology with music? Well, your child could always take up music therapy. In fact, several studies corroborate the need for children to experience multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary combinations of subjects and activities in order to undergo holistic development.

It is imperative for you to be part of this journey in that parental guidance and support provides your child with the reassurance and confidence they need every step of the way.

4. It’s time to take your pick! We’re finally down to the final step of helping your child with their life decisions; it’s time to sit them down and help them pursue their dream! While this is the concluding step, it might not be definitive or set in stone; of course, this entire course of action is part of a long-term plan but career options are susceptible to oscillate as one grows older or discovers something new about oneself. And, change is never a bad thing. After all, it is the process and journey that makes the resultant end so much more interesting. 

We really hope we were able to give you a little more clarity with regards to intuitively understanding your child better and helping them bloom into the beautiful beings they’re meant to be.