BEHAVIOUR AND DEVELOPMENT

When my son Jeremy was 14, he decided he wanted to read "the classics." He'd noticed how often people and books he was reading made references to "theirs was a Romeo and Juliet story" or "a Dickens' Christmas."

Reading these books was tough going at times, and his busy high school schedule meant he had plenty of assigned work to get through too. But he stuck with it and, by the end of high school, had read two-dozen classic books and plays.

Wading through the classics may not capture your child's passion, but Susan Bosak, author of the all-ages picture book Dream and chair of the Legacy Project, says, "The early teen years are an ideal time to introduce the idea of goal setting. As the brain develops at puberty, they are better able to break a task into steps and execute those steps."

Here are some typical young teen goals, and tips for helping your child attain them:

1. Getting Physical Kids this age may want to get fit, learn to ride a jump course, improve soccer skills or beat their running speeds. The trick is making the goal realistic, yet worth reaching. Plus, teens sometimes try to do too much too quickly and end up either injuring themselves or becoming discouraged and frustrated.

So how can you help?
• Consider finding either a teacher or coach who can outline how much progress is reasonable on a daily or weekly basis. Twelve-year-old Claire Kingston* planned an ambitious summer of horse-show competitions, but a discussion with her riding teacher helped her see that she was expecting too much from her horse and herself. She was able to create a step-by-step plan for practising and competing.

Originally published in Today's Parent, August 2006