Now, I've been asked a very important question by parents.
Now, I think one of the things as parents
that we often struggle with is to try
and strike that
Now I think the other thing we need to remember
is that we are living through some very,
very uncertain times, economically,
and so in some areas in particular,
finding any type of employment
is actually very, very difficult.
And so I think one of the first conversations
we need to be having with our young people is
What kinds of jobs do they think they would like?
And is this actually realistic?
The other thing that I think we need to consider
How will they fit it in when it comes to sport,
social time, study?
These are very, very practical conversations
that I think we need to be having with our young people,
even before we get to the point
where we're helping them get a job.
Now when it does come down to helping them get the job,
the best analogy I can think
of for us parents is to
We're holding the map.
We're navigating, we're supporting,
we're gently giving nudges and giving direction,
but at the end of the day, they are driving the car.
And so when it actually comes to picking up the phone,
sending the email, giving the CV to a potential employer,
we really need to take a backseat
and let them drive that process.
What that means is that
and as much as it's very, very difficult
for us to sit back and allow that to happen,
it's a very, very, very important part of them learning
to be resilient and independent.
So our job then is to really just nurture them,
support them, reassure them, most importantly,
Very, very important life lesson
and one that they will take with them through to adulthood.