A New Study Found That Parents (Especially Dads!) Aren't Talking to Their Teens About What Happens After High School
It's graduation season, and while your teen probably has the perfect outfit planned to get their high school diploma — and maybe even plans for a post-graduation party — have they thought about what happens next? There are way more options for after high school than the standard 'go to college or get a job,' but a new study found that teens are unaware that these exist. Parents (and dads especially) are to blame as they aren't broaching the subject with their teens.
A new Gallup poll published June 10 surveyed over 1,300 Gen Z high school students (ages 16-18) and their parents. It found that a lack of knowledge about post-high-school options and infrequent discussions of the future between parents and teens 'is leaving many students feeling unprepared for life after graduation.'
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The study, which was done in collaboration with Walton Family Foundation and Jobs for the Future, revealed that while over half of parents of Gen report knowing 'a great deal' about working at a paid job (60 percent) and earning a bachelor's degree (52 percent), they are severely less knowledgeable about any other options. Only 15 to 37 percent of parents say they are well-informed about these options: associate degrees, certificate and certification programs, experiential learning opportunities such as internships and apprenticeships, military service, or starting a business.
Parents aren't familiar with these options, so it makes sense that Gen Z are even less aware. According to the survey, only 32 percent of Gen Z high schoolers 'know a lot' about working at a paid job and only 33 percent about earning a bachelor's degree. That percentage plummets to under 20 percent for the remaining options: earning an associate degree (19 percent), completing a certificate (16 percent), enlisting in the military (12 percent), starting a business (10 percent), completing an internship (11 percent).
Part of the reason? Parents aren't talking to their teens about this nearly enough. Only 53 percent of parents of Gen Z high school students talk to their kids about their options 'frequently,' and broken down by gender, it's 60 percent of moms and only 44 percent od dads.
Researchers recommended parents initiate 'early, frequent, and well-informed' conversations with their teens, as they found fewer than 3 in 10 high schoolers feel 'very prepared' to pursue any postsecondary options they are interested in.
SheKnows Parenting editor Rita Templeton previously wrote that when she was younger, she felt pressured to go to college. 'College wasn't presented as an option; it was a non-negotiable,' she said. 'The next box to check, a necessary step on the conveyor belt of achievement. So I went. Not because I had a plan, not because I wanted to, but because I didn't know how to explain — much less defend — the fact that I didn't want what everyone else seemed to want for me.'
Now, she supports whatever post-college options her four sons want to pursue. 'I make sure they know that college is one tool in the toolbox — not the toolbox itself,' she said.
Having these convos with teens doesn't have to be hard. It might mean researching other options together or reaching out to the community to hear from people with different career paths. Helping them discover their options and choose the right one for them is the greatest graduation gift you can give as a parent.Best of SheKnows
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