But they are at a great age to begin thinking about their futures.

Next time your teen talks about her future, suggest that she write down some goals. Remind her that her work will be a “living document.” She can change it at any time!

Here are some things your teen can think about to begin setting her goals:

• What would you like to be doing 10 years from now? Fun activities are goals, too. Instead of just writing, “I’d like to have my own business,” encourage her to write some fun goals, “I’d like to do some traveling.”

• Think about the short term. What do you hope to be doing three years from now? How about one year from now? What can you get started on to achieve those one-year goals?

• Have her pick her top three from the list.

Once your teen has at least one goal to work on, she’ll need to make decisions about how to reach it. One time-honored method for making decisions is to write down the pros and cons.

If there are more pros (benefits), the decision is usually a sound one. The exception to that might be if your teen can list a strong con (disadvantage), such as “good chance of getting sick or hurt.”

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