Goal setting for kids should start as early as possible. Why?

Can you imagine setting out on a 3000 mile trip across the country without a destination in mind? Or telling yourself, “I’ll just wander down whatever path looks good at the moment and see where I end up.”

Believe it or not, that’s how many people live their lives! A few will be lucky enough to stumble across a great opportunity and find success. But for most, such happy accidents don’t happen. They spend their years struggling to find something meaningful, never experiencing the deep satisfaction that comes with reaching a planned destination.

“Life without GOALS is like flying a plane not knowing where you want to land. The PURPOSE OF LIFE is to know where we want to go and then go there.” – Author Unknown

Why care about goal setting for kids? Because there are hundreds of thousands of miles to cover in life. They can’t cover them all. Taking time to think about who they want to become and what they want to succeed at takes time – and a guide. That’s where you come in!

Parents need to find out what interests their child has and discover their natural abilities. They need to help them develop the character and capabilities they’ll need to prepare them for a happy, healthy, successful journey through life.

Goal setting for kids is the key. Your thoughtful, careful planning and hard work leads them down the runway to a successful take-off. But unless they know how to set their own goals and how to persevere through the setbacks, they will crash.

Teach Your Kids to Set Goals

Most people never achieve success by accident or by winning the lottery. By teaching your kids to set goals, you’re giving them a jump start on their way to experience a purposeful, satisfying life. It takes careful planning and discipline to make their dreams for the future a reality. They must learn to take ownership of their time and their choices and work hard to make it happen. Goal setting for kids should be an ongoing part of childhood training.

“The idea with goal setting for kids is to get them started in the life-long frame of mind of thinking, planning and taking action in order to achieve results.” – Childwatch

No one wants to see your children succeed in life more than you do. Starting the goal setting process early on will save them years of trial and error if left to figure it out on their own.

If you have not done so already, now is the time to teach your kids how to set realistic goals and help them to achieve success. By breaking goals down into bite-sized chunks and keeping your child accountable, they experience the rewards that come with perseverance. In the end, they find it was all worthwhile!

Goal Setting for Kids Builds Character

Creating goals teaches kids to follow through with commitments. They learn responsibility and patience. Instant gratification is not always possible. It takes time and effort to produce results.

Kids learn how to persevere and, with your help, they develop a healthy growth mindset as they work through failures along the way. Every achievement builds self-confidence and motivates them to keep at it.

When choosing activities for your kids, keep goal-setting in mind. Many activities can enhance your efforts to teach the value of setting goals. Sports are a classic example. Talk with your child about what they would like to be able to do after the season is over or after a given amount of time. Write them down. Get to know the coach and let him or her know about their goals. Choosing the right physical activities for kids can teach them far more than just the sport, as this mom has discovered:

“Emeth gymnastics is exactly what my family has been looking for! All the instructors are so kind. They challenge the kids and encourage them with support for them to succeed!! My kids learn something new each time and improve so fast. They set goals and are helped to achieve them! Very happy to be part of the Emeth family!”

– Morgan U.

Talk to friends and find programs near you that have caring coaches and emphasize individual progress. Once kids begin to experience the joy of reaching goals, it inspires them and creates the inner motivation to push through challenges. They develop determination and resilience – qualities that are essential for those who know what they want out of life.

The S.M.A.R.T. Way to Goal Setting for Kids

You may already be familiar with this popular acronym. It explains how to set a goal using a simple five step process. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Specific: Goals need details. Ask your child, “What exactly do you want to accomplish?”

• I want to be better at gymnastics is vague.
• I want to be able to do a round-off back handspring in six months is specific.

Measurable: Choose goals that are clearly measurable. Examples:

• Set specific amounts.
• Complete X number of lessons by a certain date.
• Pass an evaluation.
• Set and reach check points along the way for longer term goals.

Achievable: Help your child choose goals that are challenging but possible with hard work and perseverance. Encourage them to think about things like:

• Do we have the resources to do this? (money, equipment, knowledgable instructors, nearby access to the needed facility, etc.)
• Will I need help or can I do this on my own?

Relevant: Relevant goals are those which your child finds necessary or interesting. They are goals they themselves want to achieve not things they feel pressured to achieve by someone else. Ask them:

• Why is this important to you?
• How will it make you a better person?

Time-Bound: Set a time frame for when this goal should be achieved. When setting specific deadlines are not possible, as when learning a new skill, evaluation dates can be set.

Time-bound may also include specific times when your child works on the goal. “Three days a week I will spend 20 minutes practicing the back handspring drills my coach gives me.”

Fitness Goal Setting for Kids

One of the most important goals children need to focus on is how to get fit and stay fit. Physical activities for kids is crucial to their overall development. The quality of their health plays a huge part in whether or not any goal can be achieved. Maintaining health and fitness eliminates one of the main obstacles that prevents people from reaching their goals and fulfilling their dreams of a successful future.

To help you and your kids work toward setting both short and longer term goals, we’ve created a printable S.M.A.R.T. worksheet for you. It’s a useful guide to assist kids as they learn how to set a goal. We encourage you to take some time to set worthwhile, realistic goals for each child – or even as a family. The worksheet can be used for setting any other goals as well, not only for kids fitness.

Remember this quote?

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”

Whether it’s a new year, new month, or new week, start it off right with a plan to help your child (or whole family) achieve goals. Then watch their confidence grow as those successes pile up. Then, when the time comes for them to take off on their own, you can feel assured they’re flying their plane in the direction they want to land.

Free Printable Download

At EmethGym, we use our athletic programs to build lasting character into kids. Goal setting is a big part of that. We emphasize individual progress and help kids to achieve their important goals so they can safely advance through levels. You can start your kids on the road to fit bodies and increased confidence by taking one of our free trial classes. Achieving kids fitness goals can be lots of fun when surrounded by great coaches and new friends and families. Schedule a free trial today!