What do you think about career counseling...for TODDLERS??

[Aria]

Principals Australia calls for pre-school job prep

This is ridiculous.

The call was immediately rejected as "crazy stuff" by a leading childcare operator, while the state and territory children's commissioners warned against pushing academic-based teaching on children still in nappies.

But Ms Castine said research showed students as young as six could identify what they wanted to do when they grew up.

When I was six, I wanted to be a mermaid princess. Since I could "identify" what I wanted to be, does this mean I was failed by my school system for not making it happen? Sorry, but kids have to have experiences in their lives to know what they like and don't like to do.

Ms Castine said her concern was that little children rarely think beyond what their parents and relatives do for a living.

"They identify very, very limited careers, usually associated with their family," she told The Weekend Australian.

Well gee, I HOPE kids spend enough time with their parents and family at this age that they aren't familiar with other careers out of seeing them. Kids belong with their families rather than kicked from the nest to go explore other job options.

Please tell me I'm not the only one to think of this as extremely stupid. Childhood is short enough as it is. Why end that in the toddler years by expecting them to decide at 3, 4, 5, 6, what they want to do for the rest of their lives and start pushing them in that direction?

 

[Pyrrhic]

Some kids as young as 6 can show an interest in what they want. I announced at 5 that I was going to join the Army when I grew up. I have never, ever considered a different career and I am halfway through my application at the minute.

However, I'm not sure I agree with counselling! Kids change their minds so often, and people hardly grow up to do what their parents do.

 

[Zarababy1]

I kinda agree with it i suppose altho not expect a child to decide what they want too do aat the age of 6 because im almost 22 and still dont know what i want too do! but my OH wanted to be in the RAF all his life he's never wanted anything diffrent so thats what he done! when i was a kid i wanted to be a "Tummy Dr" i think my mum used too drill it in to my head, a tummy dr as in the kind that gives fat ppl lypo my sister wanted to be a "Swimming lesson" i think she ment she wanted to go to a swimming lesson but now shes 13 and shes dead set on joining the RAF!

 

[MaryJ]

I'm so with you on this one Aria. Yes, kids that young can show an interest in what they want to do and those interests should be encouraged but actual counseling is taking it a little too far.

 

[lozzy21]

This is a load of crap lmao, yes take the kids out and show them about differant jobs but actual councling my bro wanted to be a window cleaner and a bin man when he was 3 and hes now trying to join the raf.

 

[butrfly]

i think it would depend on how intensive they propose this to be. children as young as two or three can show interest in some areas more than in others. it could be a method of identifying careers they could be interested in. only time can tell whether these are definite indicators of their career inclination.

also, some pre-schools (toddler class through kindergarten) use the integrated core curriculum wherein certain themes are scheduled throughout the year. one common kindergarten theme is the study of community helpers. through this theme, children are exposed to career choices beyond the limits of their exposure within their family. they can also start exploring the idea of being the community helper featured for certain durations.

sometimes, their interest in a certain career can carry on longer than the theme, pre-school teachers are supposed to be trained to observe this interest and use it to encourage the child to learn more about the things around him.

if this is the extent of career counseling that Australian Principals would like to introduce to every pre-school, then I am surprised as I thought it would've been common in most pre-schools to have it installed within their system. if however, they intend to have a more intensive sort of counseling (parameters were not mentioned in the article), then perhaps it could be geared for the older classes (primary level) where I think it is more lacking.

(quite a long spiel, i know. but this has struck a chord as i work in the pre-school industry.)

 

[Tasha]

They are right some children do, but others dont trully know what they want to do at 25 plus. Your right childhood is getting shorter and shorter, why cant they just leave them be? I remember being that little and pretty much all of my male friends wanted to be train drivers, none of them are now

 

[oOKayOo]

God i hope not Carly still wants to be a pussy cat doll They change there minds so many times its pretty useless doing it at toddler years , after all some cant even speak propely then.

Crazy world!

 

[Mynxie]

Yes I had ideas when I was young, even in primary school, however I changed my mind that often, my original career was always there, but I always had a list of several things that I wanted to do/be.

I'm in my mid 20s now and TBH my dreams turned sour.

Ambition is fantastic, but at 3, it shouldn't be an ambition or career path, it should be playtime!

 

[Aria]

My brother to be a train conductor. Then he got bored of trains since we were around them a lot. Then wanted to be a boxer, like Rocky. He clearly didn't know enough to realize the risks involved with boxing. Then he wanted to be a werewolf because he was still too young to understand the difference between fiction and reality. Back to the boxing. Then he wanted to be a football player (American not the black-and-white ball football we call soccer) or baseball player. He did stay on that path, convinced that, no matter what, he would be the one in a ten thousand who plays pro, and so never gave second thought to a realistic job just in case. Well, a line-drive to the elbow ended that dream. He's 26 now, and last I know of, still has no idea because he was encouraged from the age of 6 to go into one profession rather than encouraged to explore different ideas and careers.

Also, how many kids want to be astronauts thinking space would be fun but now knowing the grueling training and selecting process? Only a handful of people every decade actually become astronauts. You've got a better chance at ruling a country.

Little kids should be encouraged to explore interests as they relate to their world, but expecting them to pick a career path when they still believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy is definitely too much. If that child's interests change, as they WILL, then that kid is set up to feel like a failure or a quitter if the dream job of rocket scientist at 4 is no longer and instead the child wants to teach math or become an artist.