Fun Exercise to Think About Your Kids' Futures ...

I got this from COMamabear's blog and it is a lot of fun.  Drop me a comment if you decide to do it.  This was a great activity to do, especially right now when I am thinking about goals for next year.

Here are the three questions:

1) Make a list of things your kids are interested in and good at.

2) So ... gut feel, but not banking on your being right ... where do you see each of your kids in 20 years?

3) And what would each of them need now to get to that place?

My big teen -- This is my mechanical child, who loves to put things together.  He also loves all living things, especially animals and reptiles.  He has a real gift with animals and enjoys teaching others about how to care for living creatures.  He is helpful, obedient, and wants to please his family.  He is passionate about social justice issues and improving the world through charity work.  Lastly, he is  a real comedian, who is great at impersonations and acting .... At 37 I think he will be married with maybe one child.  He will be working in a field with animals -- most likely in a nature center/zoo. I think his spare time will be filled with enjoying the outdoors, charity work and maybe a stand-up comedian.  The real question will be how many pets will he have?  What he needs now to get there -- continue his volunteer work at the regional nature center, strong background in science, continue learning skills that help him interact with a large variety of people, continue taking on more responsibilities at home that will enable him to be independent.

Goldilocks -- She is my artistic and musical child.  She loves fashion, color, and hair design.  She loves to do the hair of family members.  She is a very observant child, nothing gets past this one.  She really likes order and loves to clean everything.  This child loves to chit chat more than anyone I know. At 26 I think she will be single with no children.  She says she never wants children, and unless her heart is changed a great deal, this is probably for the best.  With her love for hair, color, fashion and her charming chatty manner, I can see her excelling in a beauty salon.  Perhaps, she could even own one of her own some day.  She could also be a great personal shopper.  What she needs now to get there --  Goldilocks needs to work on being focused, obedient, and eager to please her family.  Since she is interested in fashion, it will be especially important to raise her with a strict modesty code and for her to learn the difference between being feminine and sexy ( a challenging task in our society).

Tom Sawyer -- This little boy is a real deep thinker, who loves God and is very sensitive.  He is an eager learner, who is showing signs of being very book smart.  (He also loves workbooks ... however did a CM Mom like me get a workbook kid?) He is also artistic and very creative.  He is an outgoing child, who has a very strong, charismatic personality.  He is very strong willed (often annoying now but will pay off later).  He is also passionate about his interests. At 24 I think this one could be a teacher or more likely a professor, since he is somewhat of a free spirit and I can't see him complying to a school system's rules, if they are not working for a particular student.  He may be married, but I think between launching a career and continuing his education he will have a full plate at 24.  I do think he will marry early and have a few kids.  What he needs now to get there -- He needs to learn to temper his strong will without squelching his passion.  He needs to continue learning and we need to foster his thirst for knowledge.  He needs to continue learning to comply with authority without losing his ideals.

Little Red Ridinghood -- She is very loving and nurturing.  She loves babies and helping Mommy around the house.  She loves cooking and being Mommy's helper in everything domestic.  She is very articulate and has a really expressive manner.  She can hold her own in a large group and is quite independent.  This child is truly content and can bloom wherever she is planted. At 23 I see her as college educated and I think she will probably be married or almost married.  I think she will plan on having four or five kids (although she says she is having 20 kids!).  I am not sure she will choose to work outside the home before having children, but I think she will be a stay-at-home Mom once she has them.  In the meantime, she may be a nurse or working with young children in some way. What she needs to get there -- Right now all she needs is to continue growing and thriving and learning about the world around her. 

This was fun, let me know if you do it!  I would love to read yours.