Encourage Your Teen To Focus on Three Daily Goals

Here’s a simple exercise that can help your teen focus on other people’s needs. Ask your teen to spend a few minutes setting up three simple goals for the day. Have him think of them as the Three S’s:

1. School. What’s the most important thing your teen can do that day for school? It might be study for a big test or write a paper.
   
2. Self. What’s the best thing your teen can do for himself? (Get enough sleep? Exercise? Eat breakfast?)
   
3. Someone else. Now have your teen think about another person. What could he do to help someone else that day? Could he give his younger brother a ride? Could he mow an elderly neighbor’s lawn?

Over time, this helps teens get in the habit of thinking about others. They also focus less on their own worries and concerns.

Adapted from Virginia Beach Public School's Parent Connection.