How to Encourage a Child to Be a Doctor When Grown Up

Wanting your child to be a success in life is normal, but influencing him to enter a specific career field may be a challenge. If you have your sights set on your child becoming a doctor when she grows up, there are a few techniques you can try to gently prod her in that direction.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Encourage your child to value achievement and academic discipline. Doctors undergo stringent educational requirements and training before earning their eventual titles. Preparing a child early to appreciate hard work and persistence pays off.

2. Lead by example. Telling children what they should achieve only goes so far. Demonstrating how to set high goals and see them through illustrates the reward of personal accomplishment.

3. Suggest that your child consider a career as a doctor, but don't push him too much. A child that feels forced into a career may grow to resent it and purposefully choose a different path.

4. Foster your child's love of science and medicine. Visit science fairs and discuss current events in the world of medicine. The more familiar she is with research, the easier it will be for her to step into a medical career.

5. Provide the preliminary foundation for success in case your child chooses to become a doctor. Helping him pick classes in high school that will make his transcript shine will open the doors to a pre-med program.

6. Surround your child with reading materials that reflect the world of medicine. A child who is impressed by a real or fictional character who becomes a doctor may relate to that ideal.

7. Relax. After providing love, encouragement and direction, your child may still choose a different career path. Understand that each person has her own hopes and dreams.