It's important to set goals. Goals are things we would like to do. It is important for children to set goals for themselves. These goals could involve school, sports, career plans or any number of things. We know it isn't possible to plan everything. But even a general plan is better than no plan at all.

Goals can be either long-term or short-term. An example of a long-term goal is to become a lawyer. A short-term goal might be to pass a test or finish a course. Several short-term goals or steps will have to be reached before the long-term goal can be achieved.

Let's say a young person would like to be a lawyer some day. One step toward that goal is to finish high school. While in school, the person might want to do a co-op education program. This means that the student would spend some time with a lawyer. That way the young person would see what a lawyer does. Another step toward the goal of being a lawyer would be to go to university.

This idea of setting goals can be useful for many things in life. You might decide that finishing high school is one of your goals. Keeping a goal in mind can help a person work toward that goal.

This does not mean that everything will work out as planned. There will be failures and mistakes along the way. There will also be success. Setting goals and working towards them will increase the chances of success. Parents should encourage their children to set goals. Parents should also help them achieve these goals.