It is important to encourage your Primary children to set goals for themselves. You can do this through the Achievement Days program as well as Cub Scouts, but you may also want to extend it to your family life. While it is important to teach your children the habit of goal setting, it is important that you help them to learn to succeed. You can do this by making sure that the goals are realistic and age appropriate. You can offer guidance and support as needed.
The goals that each child sets will vary on his interests and age. For an example a three year old may have the goal to dress himself every day, whereas a five year old may have the goal to make his bed every day. Again when they are just learning, it is more about completing the process than perfecting the task. Be sure to praise your child every time he tries. It is just as important to help your children to set spiritual goals. A child may set a goal to invite a friend to church, to study the scriptures every day or to be reverent during Sacrament meeting. One goal for younger children is to begin to pray without assistance.
One important part of goal setting is accountability. This can be accomplished through weekly meetings with either mom or dad. This is a great time to talk about the goals and other things going on in the child’s life. It is a great habit to start when your children are young, because it helps you to have time to communicate with your children when they become teenagers. Young children may also benefit from a sticker chart, and enjoy the immediate reward of putting up a sticker each time they complete a task.
While you are talking about goals, you may want to set family goals as well. These may be spiritual and could include reverence during scripture study and family prayer or inviting another family over for family home evening. They could also address other areas of family life such as exercising as a family or saving up to buy a home or go on a vacation. As you make sacrifices and work together as a family, everyone will feel the satisfaction that these accomplishments bring into their lives.
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