For children, striking an emotionally healthy mindset requires a balance of optimism, trust in other people, and the ability to stay present in difficult or complex moments. Healthy mindsets tend to be connected to a sense of hope that makes it possible for a child to imagine a certain type of future. When a child has a career-oriented mindset, there are a number of implications – positive and negative – on their mental health. Career ambition is associated with a desire to solve problems, achieve goals, and attain a better future. For children who grow up in low-income households or do not have immediate access to a career-oriented mindset in their immediate families or communities, ambition can feel unrelatable or unattainable. Economic adversity is all too often a repeated set of conditions. At Maryvale, we have supported children from poverty or marginalized backgrounds since we were founded over 166 years ago. We believe that, with the right type of educational reinforcement, confidence-building, and mental health care, children can experience the benefits of career ambition and drive toward a positive future.
How To Identify and Encourage Career Ambition
Children may not automatically express an interest in a certain vision of future success or occupation simply because they have yet to consider it. Studies have shown that the simple gesture of asking children, “What do you want to be what you grow up?” can reveal important insights into a child’s overall wellbeing and perspective on the world. This becomes valuable information as children grow into teens who are increasingly likely to express feelings of hopelessness, a lack of resourcefulness, or an inability to cope. During a child’s foundational education, it becomes even more critical to equip them with self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, and curiosity. According to the World Economic Forum, which believes that we are experiencing a moment of youth mental health crisis, career aspirations among young people have remained stagnant since 2000. There are systemic issues at play in this line of thinking, such as the limiting factors of race, social class, socioeconomic background, and gender. In other words, economic opportunities are not created equally – which makes it difficult for a child who comes from a marginalized background to imagine career possibilities that their parents or community has never modeled. While job markets continue to evolve, a striking majority of low-income or socially disadvantaged youth continue to name career occupations that reflect traditional aspirations – such as teacher, nurse, doctor, or lawyer.
What does this mean for educators and mental health care providers? There is evidence to suggest that, by informing children about the broad set of options available to them in the job market of today and tomorrow, they can engage with new ideas and overcome stagnant expectations of themselves and their environments. For young children, it is critical to encourage their imagination and curiosity. Listen to the questions they ask, help them solve problems, and offer them praise and support when they demonstrate a keen interest in a particular type of activity or school subject. In these ways, young children can begin to develop confidence in their interests that will fortify their ability to navigate increasingly concrete questions about the future as they grow up.
The Value of a Purpose-Driven Mindset
Connecting the dots between the sorts of activities that feel fulfilling and the life a young person can envision for themselves takes tenacity and grit. While young children benefit most from cultivating their core interests and skills, school-age children and teens are ready to take their core interests to the next level. Connecting what we love to do with a purpose or social function is essential to a growth mindset, especially where one’s interests relate to purpose and meaning. Whether young people are struggling to see how their interests matter in the world or are looking to make a difference, finding purpose is linked with connecting their own capabilities with a need they observe in the world. A purpose-driven mindset requires a personal desire to do something meaningful and the willingness to commit to taking action. As children grow up and do not see immediate connections between their schoolwork and their daily lives, they may struggle to find purpose in the classroom.
Parents, teachers, and other adult role models can help children find purpose by paying attention to “lightbulb moments,” or sparks of interest and realization, and nurturing those moments. Children who feel positive reinforcement when they start making connections are more likely to believe in themselves. Helping children set goals and keeping track of their progress is another way for adults to show that they are paying attention and validating children’s interests and worldview.
In teens, career guidance and connections with job opportunities help them set realistic expectations for the future and, in effect, can prevent mental health disorders. Career guidance bolsters the validation younger children might feel around their “lightbulb moments” by showing teens that they are wanted and needed in a larger social context and that their strengths matter. Mapping out a teen’s interests, desired future, and goals can both open doors for them in the workplace and increase their resilience.
Where To Draw The Line
Career ambition comes with plenty of benefits for young people of all ages. However, as adults know, work-related stress can lead to substantial anxiety. When young people are too zealous about accomplishing goals and finding success, they can spiral into low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness. High ambition can lead children to be competitive and addicted to productivity in neither healthy nor sustainable ways. When dealing with a child whose view of success overtakes their ability to relax, parents and other adults should seek ways to connect their skills and interests with activities that are purely for fun.
At Maryvale, we take an individualized approach to mental health care to support young people in building a healthy, positive future for themselves and their communities. Learn more about the services we provide children and teens to promote life skills and connect teens with job opportunities.
