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Tomorrow begins the New Year – Happy New Year to all my readers everywhere. As parents we think about the future all the time; especially the future of our children. For us, the idea of goal setting (even New Year Resolutions) is not much of a foreign concept (although studies show goal setting is NOT a National pastime). For our teens however goal setting is not thought about past what’s happening this coming weekend or how can I get to Cancun for Spring Break.

Well, as parents we have to take the time to teach our children the tools so they can move into adulthood just a little smoother. Right now it’s time to talk about goals with your teens. If you have High School Seniors, you’re running out time to apply for financial aid; Juniors should be looking at colleges now. Do you have to go to college – well, no – there are plenty of trade schools as well.

For our younger teens goals can be just as important. Our teens are never too young to learn how to properly plan their lives. If you have teens that are having problem in school now, it’s easy enough to sit down and make a plan to fix it. It might even be worth sitting down with school officials and asking about an IEP (Individualized Education Program). Of course a disability must be recognized before an IEP can be put into place, but that disability can be a learning disability - such as dyslexia – it does not have to be something like ADHD, or worse.

I’ve recently written several blogs on goal planning on my Coaching website. I encourage you to look at them. There are some very simple guidelines to developing good goals. These guidelines exist for all ages. Again I wish you all a very Happy New Year, and I know that your dreams for 2010 can become realities – but we have to plan for it.