Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is Set goals for your summer >>Listen

I hope come September you’ll be able to look back and say “What a great summer we had!” Now, think about what will have to happen for you to be able to make a statement like that.

Setting goals for your summer can provide really valuable direction for you…and for your teenagers. There are several approaches to setting goals; let’s consider two approaches. You may find one of these more relevant than the other for you at this time…or you may want to use both, as I do.  

One approach focuses your attention on what you want to achieve. I like to do creative, crafty things, and each summer I set out to develop a skill and create something new… like learning to knit or creating a digital photo project. This requires me to not only identify what I want to learn or create, it requires me commit to the action steps necessary to achieve it. This process keeps me on track and focused so that I have something special to show at the end of my summer. I encourage you to get your teenagers thinking along these lines. What is a new skill they can develop or acquire? It is ever so much more satisfying to manage free time this way. Your teens will likely need your guidance to get them focused on goals…try and make this fun – not drudgery.

There are other kinds of goals, too, that need to be considered, so let’s look at “process goals.” Unlike result-oriented goals, a process goal describes a way to be; it’s not something to accomplish. The idea here is to be deliberate about the process. Summertime provides a wonderful opportunity to set some process goals for your family. How do you want to be this summer? Again, to use myself as an example, I want to relax more in the summer and enjoy the outdoors; I want to spend time enjoying the company of my friends and family. Sometimes I must remind myself that I need to drag myself away from my desk and take the time to chill and relax. What kind of process goals might resonate with you this summer? How do you want to be in your family?

Take the time to consider your results-focused goals and your process goals. Talk about this with your family at dinner and ask each member to contribute their ideas for personal goals and family goals. Be specific and thoughtful about this. Post your goals on the refrigerator so you don’t forget them. This kind of deliberate planning – and follow through – will enable you to have a memorable and satisfying summer. And… we’d love to hear your ideas for your goals, so please share them in the comments section here at ParentingTeensInfo.com

Enjoy!  Thanks for subscribing to my Two-Minute Tips for Parenting Teens……. ‘Til next week…I'm Sue Blaney