Is it normal for my child to change his mind about what he wants to study in college?

Is it normal for my child to change his mind about what he wants to study in college?

Harvey Hoyo (President, California School Counselors Association) gives expert video advice on: When should I start preparing for my child's higher education? and more...

Yes, it is very normal for a child to change their goals. As they go through, normally in elementary school they want to be, actually, if you ask them very young they'll say I want to be a fire truck and later, as they develop their skills, in second grade they want to be a fireman, and later, as they get into middle school or high school, they want to serve people so they begin to fine tune themselves. Then they get into the university, statistics actually shows us that they would change their majors an average of three times before they get their bachelor's degree. That's a normal process and it needs the supportive of that change. Most of them are very sensitive to that. Sometimes the parents get a little concerned because they say, wow, my son can't make up his mind. As the child grows, they find that they have different interests and that means that they're going to reshape themselves. The first two years of the university are, usually, what we call, general Ed requirements. Everybody takes the same kind of basic classes and it allows that change to take place. So you, as a parent, have to allow that also. As a parent you should really encourage it so that they're sure that when they step to that latter part of their college career, that they're really set on becoming an accountant or a classroom teacher or whatever it might be.