Setting Your Child Up for Success
Middle and upper-class kids get told practically from the moment they hit kindergarten that they’re expected to follow a highly specific path: they’ll graduate from high school with honors, then immediately attend a prestigious private college or a flagship state school. After that, they’ll find a stable job right out of college, and they should be prepared to work in that field until they retire. Oh, and when they retire, they should collect a pension, or at least have a sizable 401k ready and waiting for them to dip into. It’s an appealing narrative, but it’s not perfect, and it’s not necessarily one you should be forced onto your child. That’s because it won’t work for everyone, and it doesn’t really reflect the reality of today’s economy. Keep reading to see how you can set your child up for success.
The shifting job market
We’re long past the days when you could get a well-paying union factory job right out of college, and then work in that factory until retirement, at which point you were financially stable enough to lavish your grandkids with presents. If you’re a parent, you are absolutely right to be concerned if your child says he or she doesn’t really want to go to college. In most cases, a high school diploma is only going to be enough to get you a minimum wage job with poor working conditions and an unstable schedule. That being said, there are ways for your child to expand his or her horizons without going to a four-year college. People can be smart without being “classroom smart.” There are vocational programs that work great for a lot of people who prefer working with their hands to sitting down at a computer and typing all day. Your child may be more suited to something like automotive college, which allows students to become fully certified auto or diesel mechanics in two years or less. Don’t panic if your child says he or she doesn’t want to apply to colleges. Use that as an opportunity to initiate a dialogue about what your child does want to do.
Online schooling
The idea of taking a “gap year” is popular in places like the United Kingdom, but it’s not as common in the United States. The point of a gap year is to give a student a year’s break between finishing high school and entering university. He or she can spend that time traveling, working, volunteering, or doing something else that will make him or her into a more well-rounded person. It’s a way of refreshing the mind before launching into the grind of college. If your kid needs a break after obtaining a high school diploma, encourage him or her to take one, but make sure your child does more than just sitting around the house watching Netflix and eating potato chips.
What if your child wants a break from the classroom but is nervous about losing his or her educational momentum? In that case, it may be helpful to look into online colleges. Tons of credible institutions are offering online classes nowadays, from the small liberal arts college down the street to the major state school 100 miles away. Even taking just one class a semester can be enough to keep his or her mind locked in and focused on their goals. Your kid may even like it so much that he or she decides to get a bachelor’s degree online while also holding down a full-time or part-time job.
