Parents must actively help their child decide
Parents do naturally worry sick about their child’s future. It is part of being a parent and it makes sense.
Questions that will come into their minds:
“Will she ever get a proper job?”
“What can I do now to help him secure his future?”
“I want to help, but where do I start?”
Challenges faced by young people
In understanding the environment that we are working and living in, my research has uncovered lots of scary and disturbing facts (which I have shared in detail on my blog):
(1) Workers are facing more than 135 challenges in workplaces.
(2) Young people have over 47 challenges to overcome before entering the workforce.
As a parent myself, I have discovered valuable information that is based on my research. In my fact-finding work, I have developed evidence-based but practical ways that you can use to help your child prepare for the future of work, be continuously job-ready and future-ready.
Our young people need our help in building the right foundation upon which they can thrive, grow, and survive in the future. They need to be able to sustain themselves financially with reliable but constant income streams derived from jobs, investments and businesses.
For me personally, it will be this legacy that I want to leave behind for my children.
So, let me ask you this – What legacy do you want to leave behind for your child?
It’s about your child’s maturity level
Remembering that times are constantly changing, let us take a little sidestep and understand what challenges we are up against as parents when we try to help our child.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have made it possible for scientists to watch the rate at which the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain just behind the forehead, matures. They have discovered that most human brains take, on average, about 25 years to develop.
As these rates can vary among men and women, and among individuals, generally, the male brain doesn’t fully develop until age 25+. Women can experience maturity as early as 21 years old.
This is something we can all relate to this with our own son or daughter!
These numbers may even be higher for younger generations because of the world we are living in today – protective, abundance, and entitled.
Armed with this vital piece of research information, we know that young people will not be mature enough to make life-changing, future-impacting decisions straight out from high school when they just turn 18- or 19 years old.
While there may be exceptions to this, many will require active help from their parents to navigate life’s challenges.
Who am I?
As young people are transitioning into adulthood, they are also seeking answers to questions like “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?”
These are important life questions that they must work through about their future:
“What college or university course should I take?”
“What job should I do?”
For some, finding answers to these questions can and do take a long time. For some, it could be stressful.
Therefore, as a community, we need to support our younger generation and ensure that they remain engaged and productive.
Increasing mental health challenges
It is important to acknowledge that young people are increasingly experiencing mental health challenges. The rates of suicide and attempted suicide are on the rise.
Mental health issues are no longer taboo subjects, but something we must openly discuss without judgment. Our young people need our support in overcoming any mental health challenges.
The facts are grim and disturbing.
(1) One-third of first-year university students around the world the reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosable mental health disorder. (Journal of Abnormal Psychology)
(2) One in five college students in the U.S. has contemplated suicide. (Depression and Anxiety)
(3) 30% of students struggling with depression drop out, one-fifth of whom might have stayed in school with the proper treatment and intervention. There is a staggeringly steady upswing in rates of anxiety and depression since 2010.
(4) 2015 findings from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, which gathers data from counseling centers at colleges across the country, found that utilisation of mental health services by college students has shot up 30% to 40% between 2010 to 2015, while enrollment only increased by 5%.
(5) The rate of individuals reporting symptoms consistent with major depression in the last 12 months increased 52% in adolescents from 2005 to 2017 (from 8.7% to 13.2%) and 63% in young adults age 18 to 25 from 2009 to 2017 (from 8.1% to 13.2%). The rate of young adults with suicidal thoughts or other suicide-related outcomes increased by 47% from 2008 to 2017 (from 7.0% to 10.3%). (Science Daily, 2019)
The bottom line is that young people are not coping well.
It is, therefore, incumbent on us, as parents, to proactively help our child navigate these challenges and put them on the healthy pathway. Acquiring the right information and knowledge is the right step.
Enrolling in a mental health first-aid course is another step parents can take. I have done this course and it is an eye-opener.
Parents, please help me!
Whether we like it or not, times have changed.
This is where parents should be proactively stepping in to assist or support their child to make appropriate decisions that could positively impact their future lives.
Parents must be equipped with the right updated information about what’s going on. They need to understand how the future of work is shaping out to be.
Complacency does kill jobs. It can also kill the potential future of our young people.
Walking alongside your child, you need the right tools and resources to apply that information to your child’s circumstances and personality. This is where my unique evidence-based Job Certainty Technique comes in handy.
My blog can also be the starting point for conversations to occur with your child. I have written articles that can help workers future-proof themselves with a secure in-demand job, career or calling, and be job-ready and future-ready to create multiple income streams.