What can I do?
Parents have an important role to play in helping their child make decisions on the subjects they take at school and the course or career they decide to follow after leaving school.
It is important to talk through the choices your child has made even if they are certain of what they want to be. Support them to keep their options open as much as possible until they are perhaps certain of the course or employment route they wish to take.
You can help by discussing with them what they are interested in, what they are good at and what they enjoy. It might not always result in a concrete answer, but at this stage many young people are developing their ideas and the more information they have from parents, carers and family members, together with teachers and career support will make the decision a better informed one.
It is really important to encourage your child to not simply go along with subjects that their friends are doing.
Many subjects have been traditionally been seen as mainly for boys or girls, but it is important not to stereotype girls and boys into subjects, courses or career choices based on their gender. It is important to encourage your child to be what they want, rather than following a path which is not right for them.
Here are some key points to keep in mind when discussing subjects, courses and careers with your child:
- Support a choice based on interests and skills.
- Support a choice of subjects that is flexible so that your child can explore and develop ideas about courses and careers.
- Support decisions that are not based on what you or your child think are good for girls or boys to do.
- Support your child to be what they want to be.
Resources
These comic strips show scenarios where different characters think about what jobs or courses they might like to do. You can use these to help start discussions with your child about what they want to do.
These are real life case studies which show the different paths taken by our professionals, including what they studied and what advice they have for young people who might be interested in their subject area or job.
