How can you help?

Help your teenager to explore their options

Encourage your teenager to:

• read the information they get from school
• check that they know which subjects are compulsory
• use their local online 14-19 prospectus to get more information about local opportunities - they can find this through www.direct.gov.uk/14-19prospectus
• make a list of any questions they have about the options that interest them and where they lead
• talk to the people who know what they need to know - students already doing the course, their teachers, careers coordinator and Connexions personal adviser
• sign up for course tasters to find out more about what an option involves
• check application deadlines.

Help your teenager identify their strengths and interests

Your teenager is much more likely to succeed if their choices fit their strengths and interests. Encourage them to talk about:

• their best and least favourite lessons
• their spare time activities
• how they feel about different types of lessons
• how they feel about tests, exams and practical projects.

You could also work with them on the activities in Which way now?

Help your teenager see the links between the present and the future

Encourage your teenager to talk about their hopes and visions for the future and any ideas they have about work or study. Reassure them that it's all right if they have no clear plans. They can choose options that give them plenty of choice in the future.

If they have a fixed career in mind, they may need specific experience, subjects, qualifications and grades to do it. Encourage them to find out by looking up careers that interest them on jobs4u and looking at course entry requirements in their local online 14-19 prospectus.

Gently challenge any choices that concern you

For example, you might want to challenge a choice because you feel that your teenager has:

• not done enough research
• over or particularly underestimated their interest and ability in a subject
• been too heavily influenced by who they think will teach the course, what their friends say or fear of being the only boy or girl in a group.

Support your teenager's decisions

If you disagree with your teenager's choices, try to give in gracefully. Show them that you want the best for them by accepting that it's their choice. If at a later date they realise that they made the wrong decision, they will need your support to deal with the consequences.

Encourage your teenager to make a back-up plan

Your teenager may not be able to do the combination of things they want to do for a variety of reasons. Having a back-up plan will make them feel as though they still have some control over what happens.