Mumsnet users share with Little Tikes how they get their child thinking about what they want to be when they grow up

[EllieMumsnet]

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Some children are adamant they’re going to be a ballet dancer or an astronaut when they grow up, whereas others are more interested in activities such as building and putting things together. This might one day turn into a career like engineering. With more and more emphasis on the importance of STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and getting children involved in them at an early age, Little Tikes would love to know how you get your children thinking about what they want to be when they grow up and in particular get them involved in STEM subjects.

Here’s what Little Tikes have to say: “STEM learning from an early age opens children up to a world full of exciting hands-on play. Preschool-age children are perfect for this type of learning. These mini scientists are impossibly curious and love to experiment and discover! Future engineer, mathematician or chemistry teacher… for now, the fun is the learning.”

Perhaps you purchase toys that involve learning from an early age to help stimulate them? Do you have conversations with your DC about the vast array of things they can do when they grow up? When it comes to STEM subjects, do you take them on days out that have an element of STEM education involved? Maybe you encourage them to keep pursuing whatever it is they’ve shown interest in?

However you get your children thinking about what they want to be when they’re older and STEM education, let us know on thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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My two youngest are both very different. My little Maths lover (7) says he wants to be a Robotic engineer - perhaps influenced by Star Wars but definitely seems like a route for him (Aspergers waiting to be assessed). My caring, worrier daughter (9) is a huge animal lover and would love to be a veterinary nurse. Whereas my 20 year old studying writing at Uni has no idea! They’ll make there own way. My main concern is that they are kind, happy, healthy and loved.

I've always kept it quite general, but stressed the need to work hard and be conscientious - about deadlines etc and that the skills that they learn and apply in school now will be useful when they have a job.

We do talk about it. Mainly because my children bring it up. The littlest just wants to be a princess but my eldest who is starting secondary wants to be all kinds of things from a YouTuber to a mathematician to a computer game designer / animator. She does actually really think about what she enjoys and how that can relate to a job… Or rather how she can make money out of things she enjoys! She's already said that she doesn't want to be a mum because it's too much hard work.

I encourage my child to just play and at the moment he is naturally gravitating to wheels and baking! I point out people working around us all the time and tell him that everyone's job is needed in some way. Interests will change for him as he gets older but I would like for him to see opportunities and open doors.

I don't know why, but my kid decided at 4 years old he would become a builder of ships and hasn't waivered for 4 years. 'Why not aeroplanes? they are faster.' 'No, I want to build ships.' 'Wouldn't it be more fun to be the captain of a ship, so you can go to a lot of cool places?' 'Nah, I want to build them'.

I do not know, on what basis kids decide, exposing them to a lot of different stuff helps. But one cannot influence what the kid finds fascinating. I isolated the DNA of tomatoes with him, hoping to make him interested in Biochemistry. He found it fun, but he still wants to become an engineer who builds ships.

I believe what what is important for the kid is a vision that drives them. My son loves Maths and is really good at it and does more than he needs to (1-2 years ahead of his peers). I asked him why. His answer was: 'Well, I'll sure need Maths, when I start building ships'.

Agree that the idea of encouraging a career plan in a small child is terrible parenting.

But I do point out about different jobs the dcs might not have thought about, encourage particularly woman in traditionally male roles.

My children mainly aspire to be superheroes so not really sure how I can help them to achieve that dream.
Can anybody point me in the direction of the radioactive spiders

I'm a careers adviser so my kids have no choice but to talk about their career ideas! Ironically they both have very strong career ideas already so I don't have much work to do with them

The most important thing is to help our kids develop self confidence and resilience and then they will succeed in whatever they decide to do in the future.

My boys ask me if I want them to be a doctor or a lawyer or a racing driver. I tell them I just want them to be happy. Whatever path they choose. I will not force my expectations onto them

I don’t, I encourage my DD to do things she loves and to try new things and try to foster a love of learning. That way she’ll hopefully find something she enjoys doing that would lead to a job in the future. As the saying goes ‘if you find a job you love you’ll never work a day in your life’

I just talk to them about their interests and reinforce that they have lots of options. Still sadly having to point out that men and women have similar options and that anyone can be a scientist etc.

DS 8 wants to be a footballer and failing that a palaeontologist, DS 6 wants to be a pilot and DD 4 hasn't expressed anything yet! Tbh I'm pushing 30 and still am not sure what career path I want!!

Bizarre question. Surely you just do good parenting: listen to what your dc tell you by their words and their actions, respect their curiosity, follow their interests and widen them? As for promoting STEM, the best thing you can do is respect and support their schooling. Never ever say "Oh, maths. I don't understand maths."

My golden rule is never, ever to tell any child 'That's a very competitive career, not many people get to do that'.

The people who have careers they love just go for it. They don't spend hours contemplating the difficult journey ahead.

I let my kids find out about their likes, dislikes, strengths and weakness through play, especially games which my three boys can play together. Lego, Minecraft, small and gruesome figures and the little tykes car outside all contribute to shared games in our house. I have no idea why the car features but it is often loaded up with stuff and being propelled across the garden in a dangerous fashion!

My children are toddlers so too young for career talk or at least too young to be actively encouraging them to think about it at any length and she varies on a weekly basis depending on what she thinks looks fun - when I’m big I’ll be a police lady/ Doctor/ lolipop man etc

We don't. The world is changing so rapidly that I don't think you can predict what jobs will be available in 15yrs time when they'd be starting working or in 65yrs time when they'll be working. What we do discuss when we're out & about is how you get various jobs (are A levels required &, if so, which ones; what about a degree), working hours (particularly in relation to childcare) and pay levels... and then usually bring that back to "so that's why you need to work hard at everything at school so you have as many options as possible". Crucially, we are bringing the children up in a house where we don't have prejudices about what girls can do & what boys can do and our friends have a mixture of jobs with some women in very high powered jobs whilst their husbands are DHs or have taken a back step career wise to let their wife forge ahead.

My son wants to be a rockstar
My daughter wants to be kind and paint pigs on rocks.
Not sure about the baby brother yet but if he could tell me I think it would be a fruit taster for M & S

Children want to be what they see around them, my son wants to be a bus driver. (Although picking passengers up is an aside - the driving of the bus is the goal - oh those poor passengers.)

My DD's have always had an empathy with small animals, and we have e menagerie of pets, they both want to be vets, which I think is a wonderful profession, and my poor Labrador is often covered in bandages from their doctors set.

Bought my 5 year old daughter a carpentry kit... her brother was always competitive..he became an architect!

My dad is a civil engineer and my ds is fascinated by engineering.

I take him to a local mill museum regularly where he watches the piston and they often let him in the boiler room as a treat. My dad gave him a builders merchants catalogue and that's his bedtime reading.

He once shouted from his buggy. Look mum a scissor lift. Which had the man on the top of the scissor lift in stitches. And like his grandad he can't walk past a building site without looking down the holes to see what they are up to

It's good to expose children to the different possibilities open to them by talking about different jobs/careers and encouraging them to try their best at school, but that's about it. Aspiration is great but pressure is not.
:)

I just explain that he can do anything he wants when he gets a big grown up ! He loves fire engines so I have told him he can drive one when he is older ! Same with anything he shows interest in :)

When my son (9) watched Tim Peake on the space station, running the London Marathon on the treadmill and his enthusiastic interviews on the television, it has put that 'seed' into his mind, which has grown slowly over the year, he loves books on the moon, galaxy, and the solar system, so his chosen profession is Astronaut !!

My daughter is 3 and has come up with many ideas on her own - she currently wants to be a tooth fairy when she grows up!