Getting your teen set up for success
getty
With AI reshaping entire industries and Gen Z becoming the most entrepreneurial generation in history, traditional preparation methods are no longer enough. Today’s teens need skills that go beyond good grades and standardized test scores.
The most successful teens aren’t just academically prepared—they’re developing real-world capabilities that give them an edge in college admissions and future careers. Here are five proven ways to help your teen build these essential skills.
1. Get Them Developing Entrepreneurial Skills
Youth entrepreneurship programs are producing some of the most career-ready graduates entering today’s workforce. These programs teach teens to handle rejection, manage financial responsibility, and solve real problems—skills most professionals don’t develop until years into their careers.
Students who participate in entrepreneurship education and develop an entrepreneurial mindset exhibit measurably different outcomes compared to their peers. They develop resilience by learning that business setbacks aren’t personal failures but learning opportunities. They build confidence by turning ideas into action and seeing tangible results.
Since 2009, organizations such as WIT (Whatever It Takes), which I founded, have provided more than 10,000 teens with the opportunity to turn ideas into action. The impact goes far beyond theory. When young people launch nonprofits, businesses, or social movements tied to issues they care about, they gain skills and confidence that last a lifetime. Similar initiatives, like LaunchX, have shown the same results: when teens are placed in structured environments where they can build actual ventures, they leave better prepared for both college and the workforce.
Why This Matters: College admissions officers increasingly look for students who demonstrate initiative and real-world impact. A teen who has launched a business, even a small one, stands out in application pools full of identical extracurricular activities.
2. Build AI Literacy Skills Early
According to Pew Research, 26% of American teenagers now use ChatGPT for schoolwork—double the number from 2023. Rather than viewing AI as a threat to learning, smart parents are helping their teens understand how to use these tools responsibly and effectively.
AI literacy isn’t just about coding or technical skills. It’s about learning and understanding how to leverage artificial intelligence for increased productivity, creativity, and problem-solving, while also recognizing its limitations and the ethical implications it raises.
Programs like AI4ALL introduce students to artificial intelligence through hands-on projects and mentorship. Code.org offers AI curriculum modules that teach teens to build and apply machine learning models with creativity and ethics in mind.
Why This Matters: The World Economic Forum identifies AI and machine learning among the top skills employers will prioritize by 2030. Teens who develop AI fluency now will have significant advantages in college and career opportunities.
3. Develop Public Speaking and Communication Skills
Despite living in a hyper-connected world, many teens struggle with face-to-face communication and public speaking.
Public speaking builds confidence, improves critical thinking, and teaches teens to organize their thoughts clearly. It also helps them articulate their ideas persuasively—a skill essential for job interviews, college applications, and entrepreneurial pitches.
Organizations like Toastmasters offer youth programs, while debate clubs and Model UN provide structured environments for developing these capabilities. Many communities also host teen entrepreneur pitch competitions that combine public speaking with business skills.
Why This Matters: Research consistently shows that communication skills are among the top qualities employers seek. Teens who can speak confidently and persuasively have advantages in every aspect of their future careers.
4. Encourage Real-World Problem Solving Skills
The most successful teens learn to identify problems and create solutions rather than waiting for assignments or directions. This entrepreneurial thinking translates to every field and career path.
Parents can foster this mindset by encouraging teens to tackle challenges they genuinely care about. Maybe they’re frustrated by long cafeteria lines at school, or they notice elderly neighbors who need help with technology. These everyday problems can become the foundation for meaningful projects.
The key is encouraging teens to move from complaint to action. When teens learn to view problems as opportunities and are given the chance to develop practical solutions, they cultivate the innovative thinking that defines successful leaders.
Programs such as hackathons, maker spaces, and community service initiatives offer structured opportunities for teens to apply their problem-solving skills to real-world challenges.
Why This Matters: Colleges and employers are increasingly valuing candidates who demonstrate initiative and creative problem-solving skills. These experiences provide rich content for applications and interviews.
5. Build Financial Literacy Skills Through Practice
Traditional financial education often focuses on theory—budgeting worksheets and compound interest calculations. But teens learn financial responsibility more effectively through hands-on experience managing real money.
Entrepreneurship naturally builds financial literacy. When teens run businesses, they learn about profit margins, cash flow, and investment decisions through direct experience. This gives them the chance to learn firsthand the difference between revenue and profit because it affects their actual earnings.
Parents can also encourage teens to take on financial responsibility for specific goals—saving for a car, funding a school trip, or building a college fund. The key is making the financial management real rather than theoretical.
Organizations like Junior Achievement offer programs that combine financial education with entrepreneurial experience, teaching teens both business principles and money management skills.
Why This Matters: Financial literacy is a life skill that affects every future decision your teen will make. Early experience with financial responsibility creates habits that lead to long-term success.
Implementation Strategies for Parents
Getting started doesn’t need to require significant investments or complete schedule overhauls. Here are practical first steps:
Start with interests: Help your teen identify what they genuinely care about, then find programs or opportunities that build on those interests while developing new skills.
Look for local opportunities: Many communities offer entrepreneur clubs, maker spaces, or youth business competitions. These provide peer networks along with skill development.
Encourage small experiments: Your teen doesn’t need to launch the next big startup. Small projects—tutoring younger students, selling crafts online, or organizing community events—build the same essential skills.
Connect skills to goals: Help your teen understand how these capabilities support their college and career aspirations, whether they want to be doctors, teachers, or tech entrepreneurs.
Model the behavior: Share your own experiences with problem-solving, financial decisions, and communication challenges. Teens learn as much, if not more, from observing as from formal instruction.
By encouraging entrepreneurship, AI literacy, effective communication, problem-solving skills, and financial responsibility, parents can help their teens develop the capabilities that define successful leaders.
These skills aren’t just preparation for future careers—they’re tools for success in college applications, internship opportunities, and leadership roles throughout life. The investment in developing these capabilities pays dividends long before your teen enters the workforce.