News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Some parents are of the opinion that self-discovery is the best way for a teenager to choose a career path. Others worry that, in this highly competitive market, 'self-discovery' is too ambiguous and unstructured to provide the skills necessary to compete, so they offered other suggestions.

"Several parents said career testing had worked well for their kids, either at college counseling centers or other sources. Testing by the nonprofit Johnson O'Conner Research Foundation (www.jocrf.org), an assessment firm with 11 offices nationwide, was recommended by several readers."

One mother in Oklahoma suggests that her teens consider three "overlapping circles"; the things they love to do, the activities in which they're talented, and activities others will pay them to perform. Read more at CareerJournal.com.

Think military boarding schools will straighten out your troubled teen and get them on the right path? Learn about their ineffectiveness and about other alternatives at 4-Military-School-Alternatives.com.

Labels: education, careers, testing

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The competition seems to get tougher and tougher. Even in her freshman year of college, your child might begin vying for post-graduate internships and jobs. But as Sue Shellenbarger from The Wall Street Journal has watched this scenario unfold in her own household, she's less concerned about the level of competition and more concerned with the ultimate career paths her kids are choosing.

"Although I'm glad my son, 16, and my daughter, 19, are thinking about jobs, their deliberations hold none of the curiosity or sense of exploration that I recall feeling at their age. Instead, they seem rushed and grim."

Most young people feel a high level of "career anxiety", according to college counselors. This anxiety causes them to choose a career path - any path - very early and set about pursuing it without much thought to what they actually enjoy or might find satisfying. Ask leading questions when your teen begins talking about work and a career. Help him discover not only his natural talents, but the ways he enjoys using those talents. Be one of the few voices in your kid's life that's telling her it's ok to choose a career she actually loves. Read more at OCRegister.com.

The best boarding schools will offer your teenager a peak at different career choices by offering a variety of classes. Find a boarding school for your teen at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: education, stress, careers

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