As a parent, one of the ways you can help is by noting and encouraging your child’s strengths and interests.

Sometimes those interests may differ from what we think is best for our children. After all, there were probably lots of parents who worried when their children announced 15 years ago that they were going to pursue a career in computers.

Here are ways you can help encourage your child’s interests:

• If your child shows an interest in a particular field, find ways to help her learn more. A budding scientist would probably love a Saturday trip to a science museum.

• Organizations like the Scouts provide opportunities for kids to learn more about careers.

• Television programs and newspaper articles are other ways for your child to learn more about a possible job.

• You might even arrange for your child to spend a day “shadowing” someone who holds a job that interests him.

Still the choice of a career, when it comes, must be your child’s—not yours. Your job is primarily to support.

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