It is not sex education, but choice of further
curricular education that is top most on the minds of parents this season. It is time for nightmares, running to get certificates, arranging loads of money for donation, making connections, making settings using influence and money.

Examinations for X and XII standard are over.
Should I send my child to Arts, Commerce, Science, or Technical subjects?

DIFFICULTIES OF PARENTS AND TEENAGE CHILDREN
Parents can be adamant. Teenagers rebellious.
Parents attitude may be fixed with reasons to support it. Teenagers know their abilities, their difficulties and know new, current options for their studies.

WHAT A LOGIC
Whereas it is assumed that children become adults at 18 and have enough farsightedness to elect the right candidate from their constituency; it is believed that they are not mature enough to make correct choice about their own life. If the gray cells have matured enough, is it not fair to give good listening to the teenager’s choice of further studies?

BASIC FACT
The one who is going to study, who is going to travel to college is the right person to make the final choice.
What can parents do? Pay for expensive tuitions, pay load of donation fees. Remember, it is your child who has to walk the path. Intuition guides them. They learn to make decisions and take responsibility for it.

Taking admission to colleges can be very stressful to parents. Parents worry for days and months, and justify it. Parents have nightmares. Parents use immoral means to earn money deceiving their own conscience. The billion dollar question is: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CAREER FOR MY CHILD?

What parents do
When you convince your child to take up course and college of your choice, when you pour loads of money in donation, when you use influence and struggle to get admission and if the child cannot cope with studies despite expensive tuitions, do you know what the teenager is going to say?
Scene One
“What can I do? I knew I was not cut out for it, but you forced me. ”
“Others are . . .”
“but I am not like others. I know what suits me, Mom.”

Scene Two
Look at another scenario.

When the teenager makes the choice s/he learns to take decision and with it comes responsibility. Your child thinks, “What if”, has no excuse for poor performance, works hard and knows parents cannot be blamed.

Ms. Jyotsana Mital, veteran career counselor of St. Xavier’s College, warns parents who thrust their own choice on their children that the child is bound to put the blame squarely on you if the child cannot cope with studies despite expensive tuitions.

HOW BEST TO MAKE CHOICE FOR FURTHER STUDY

The child’s

• aptitude,
• abilities,
• attitude
• personality characters,
• innate nature,
• interests,
• availability of courses and
• availability

of admission to colleges
are important determinants in
taking CORRECT decision of further studies for a teenager.

There are specific tests to check aptitude. Counselor can map personality of your child. It does not cost lot of time or money.

Why do aptitude test
The tests save parents money from being wasted in donations and tuitions. Parents need not have sleepless nights.

Often even if the parents are right, the teenagers being rebellious at this age may not listen to them.

TIPS FOR PARENTS

Instead of presuming,
you know your child best and
what is best for your child and
what best suits your family standards
get help from a specialist to do this work.

You may have lot of expectations from the child. The teenager may have magnificent dreams. Are these practical? Yes, they may be. Or, they may not be. How to be sure?
Take the road towards, APTITUDE TESTING.
Career counselor armed with objective and subjective data related to child’s ability, aptitude, personality, interests can helping the child (not the parent) to take the decision. They have experience. They are SPECIALISTS.
Example
A cardiologist is trained specifically in the field of cardiovascular medicine, has seen thousands of patients, thus has rich experience and knowledge of the latest and the best treatment options from which to choose the most appropriate line of treatment for the patient.

Why Career Counselor
Well, career counselor is a specialist. Career Counselor impartially, objectively and subjectively examines the teenager. Counselor has the latest updates of what is available, what are the trends, and have rich experience of guiding thousands and thousands of students over several years. Such a specialist armed with data of your child can handle both the parents and the children well.

Where is Aptitude Test done?
Where can I find Career Counselor?
1
Elphinstone Technical College has Vocational Guidance Bureau of the Government of India.
It caters to all students for guidance after X standard and after XII standard Science. It does not cater to XII arts and commerce, for this you will have to go to
2
Saint Xavier’s College, which is on the same road close to the Vocational Guidance Bureau.
Address:
St. Xavier’s College. Address. :
5, Mahapalika Marg , Mumbai – 400001.

CONVINCE
Coax/persuade/convince – it is the same thing.

ABILITY A characteristic that is indicative of competence in a field.