Help your child figure out what he wants to do, and then help him find out what he needs to do to achieve his goals.

How involved are you in your child's education? Many parents help their children with their homework or force them to study, but often, this is where their involvement with their child's education ends.

What does your child want to do when he grows up? Many children don't have a clear idea. Instead of leaving them to work out something on their own, or dictating terms as to what you think they should be doing, help them figure out their interests by themselves.

Talk to someone in the same field

If your child shows leanings towards a particular career field, let your child meet a friend of yours who is in the same line, so they can have a talk. It is important you first let your friend know that he should give your child information and encouragement, and should not under any circumstances discourage your child from entering a field. If your child is consider pursuing Chartered Accountancy for instance and you ask a CA to speak to your child, the last thing you want him to say is "Oh it's really boring and you have to study a lot. You may study and study but still fail. It's very hard… Why would you want to do this? Take my advice and stay away!" This may discourage your child completely. Instead, make it clear that the person should give your child information about the job - what would be required of him, what strengths your child will need to focus on building, what the work will entail and more importantly, what your child will need to do and study, what are the best firms for internship, how should he go about applying and so on.

Lay out options

Often children are unaware of the options open to them. You will need to help lay them out. Although your child may have a vague idea of what he wants to do, some children will need your help to turn their idea to a reality.

Find out the steps involved

Your child may want to become a newsreader, but this may just remain a dream since he doesn't have a clue as to how to go about it. It is thus important for you to help your child find out how he can go about reaching his goal. You have much better access to information than your child has, so use that access. What will your child need to study? How can he apply for a job? Speak to people in that field - not to pull strings and help him get a job - but to gain information to help your child reach there.

Work with your child

Many parents assume their children will figure out what to do and how they should do it. However, your children need your help not just in figuring out what is a good career choice, but also, what are the steps they need to take to achieve their goals. Work with your child and find out names of colleges, help him get application forms, find out good courses that will help your child and so on. There is so much information out there, your child can very easily get lost when pursuing his goal without you by his side.