Should I Let My Child Study Whatever He Wants? – Being Parents

Choosing a university course is one of the most difficult for anyone. We start from the fact that, very often, adolescents have not yet discovered what excites them or are not aware of their strengths and weaknesses; therefore, they don’t know what to choose. What to do as a parent? Should I let my child study whatever he wants?

A large majority of students who graduate from high school do not know what to study in college. They do not know which profession is the most suitable for their life. Many make this decision with their current tastes in mind.

Another motive that also plays an important role is that they want to keep the same social circle at school, or follow erroneous social precepts, such as the idea that the best courses are medicine and engineering.

Faced with such a complex subject, we will present some considerations to you. The idea is to always avoid frustration among young people or even dropping out of university, which generally borders on 30% of enrollments.

Should I let my child study whatever he wants?

The answer to the question “should I let my child study what he wants?” ” is yes. It is considered that there is nothing healthy in that parents impose a university course on their children,  against their will; there is no doubt that their performance will not be optimal if they have to attend class for something that they do not like.

It is also obvious that choosing a profession is not easy. School and home must work together, starting early enough to prepare adolescents for their future career.

Nonetheless, there are many factors that influence this decision. They range from the passing tastes of the adolescent and the reluctance to lose their friendships  to the fact of following erroneously in the footsteps of their parents, without really analyzing whether this profession will please them or if they will be able to do it. to follow.

Based on these ideas,  the help parents can provide to their teens can be summed up in four steps. We must obviously take into account aspects specific to the character of the young person and the courses suggested.

Aspects to take into account

The two aspects to be taken into consideration in order to be able to guide the adolescent correctly are:

• Know the adolescent’s character, skills and strengths.
• Evaluate the young person’s school career (at least the last three years) in order to be able to identify the areas in which he offers a better performance.

How to guide this decision through four steps

1. Chat

Once the two previously mentioned aspects have been identified, it is important to have several very sincere conversations with the young person. During these conversations,  you should make a list of your strengths, skills and academic background. The goal is to really know his possibilities, whether he chooses a scientific, medical or humanist course.

It is important that your child feels free to speak openly about these topics, without hiding anything. As a responsible adult, you must be there to listen to them  and to make them feel understood and supported in their decision.

2. Perform an orientation test

After talking about their strengths and weaknesses,  it is recommended that you encourage a young person to take an orientation test. This will help to discern its educational tendencies.

These tests can be done with the guidance counselor or on the Internet, verifying that the site is serious and belongs to an educational institution.

3. Visiting workplaces

Very often, young people have a romantic idea of ​​certain routes. A third very important step is therefore to take the teenagers directly to the offices of an accountant, a stylist, an engineer or a hospital ward. He will thus be able to observe – at least superfluously – how the daily life of a person who does this job unfolds.

4. Choice of university

The choice of university is also a fundamental step for young people to feel independent and at ease during their studies. Explore with him the best options that meet his needs.

Finally, you must take into account that  many young people do not want to start their university studies immediately. They may even postpone them, often for two years. However, this does not necessarily have to be considered negative. Your child may indeed have more time and mature before deciding what to do with his life.