Parents Corner

A Parent’s Role in Early Career Exploration

Parents play a pivotal role in a child’s career exploration. It starts when a young child tells you what he/she wants to be when they grow up. The younger the child, the more fanciful the career choice, but parents play an important role by simply listening to their son or daughter’s earliest career interests. Not every child will grow up to play professional baseball or be a ballerina, however these simple childhood dreams are a starting point of dialogue on career exploration.

Parents influence their children in the career decision process by communicating their attitudes and values about work. Small children watch their parents and model that behavior. Small children realize the importance of a job by simply watching a parent go to work everyday.

Begin career exploration early, even if it’s just a simple field trip to your local fire station or veterinarian office. Seize those “teachable moments” with a child. Early career impressions can be further developed during middle and high school years.

So encourage your little ballerina or firefighter to “pretend.” Help them get acquainted with the world around them, and later on, when it’s time to make the “big” decisions, it may be easier.