While parents are getting accustomed to the early morning rush and packing lunchboxes, children are back to busy timetables and the hum of a new academic year. But starting well is not as good as starting right. Early weeks of a new academic year are precious — a window for setting routines and perfecting them

Kiran Balimane & Cynthia John

The two-month summer break is over, and India’s 1.47 million schools have re-opened and a massive cohort of 247 million children are back in classrooms for the new academic year 2026-27. While parents are getting accustomed to the early morning rush and packing lunchboxes, children are back to busy timetables and the hum of a new year. But starting well is not as good as starting right. Early weeks of a new academic year are precious — a window for setting routines and perfecting them. Well utilised, this time can shape how the entire year unfolds. Used negligently, the window closes.

Child psychologists and parenting coaches are unanimous that children who begin the year with clear goals, healthy habits, and sense of purpose perform better in academics and co-curricular activities. According to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology (March 2024), if children set clear academic goals, they improve their learning and co-curricular outcomes. Therefore, at the start of a new academic year, children — with parents’ aid and advice — should set goals, establish healthy habits and chart a pathway towards success. In this cover story, which coincides with the start of the new academic year, we present expert advice and practical suggestions on effective goal-setting, positive affirmation, participation in sports programmes, after-school learning opportunities and creative pastimes to set the tone for a productive and successful year, enabling children to realise their full potential.

Goal-setting

Goal-setting is much more than an exercise in wishful thinking. Research in educational psychology has consistently shown that students who set specific, challenging yet achievable goals, are more motivated, focused and perform better academically. Dr. Srishty P. Gajbhiye, a Bengaluru-based psychologist and life coach recently awarded an honorary doctorate from the Delhi-based World Human Rights Protection Commission, believes motivating children to set specific, attainable goals is imperative to boosting learning outcomes.

“The start of the academic year sets the tone for the next 12 months. Parents should use this time together with their children to jointly set academic and co-curricular learning goals. They should teach children to break down big dreams into manageable tasks, providing direction and purpose. This is especially important during the formative years when children’s sense of identity and self-worth is developing. Living with purpose through goal-setting, vision-building, and developing self-confidence is a lifelong journey. The role of parents is to guide and support children to get on to this path,” says Dr. Gajbhiye.

SMART Goals

According to Gajbhiye, a good way to start is to teach children to set SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound — goals. “Use simple worksheets to set and write down SMART goals,” she advises.

Specific. Clearly define goals and ways to achieve them. Discourage children from writing generalities: ‘I want to do many creative things. Goalsetting needs to be well-defined and specific. For example: “I want to learn the art of origami”.

Measurable. For goal-setting to be effective, progress and outcomes should be measurable. For instance, if your child wants to improve her mathematics, she could set a goal of completing an online maths course within six months and achieving a targeted score. Similarly, if your child decides to “read more,” define the goal precisely, such as “read 10 books over the next three months” or “read for 20 minutes every day”.

Achievable. Unrealistic goals frustrate children. As a parent, you need to help your child set practical and achievable goals. Moreover, break the end goal into smaller, less formidable goals.

Relevant. Goals should align with your child’s interests, strengths and aspirations. Children are more likely to remain motivated and committed when their goals are meaningful and connected to a larger purpose. For instance, a child who enjoys science may set a goal to participate in a science Olympiad. When goals are relevant, achieving them becomes more rewarding and purposeful.

Time-bound. Every goal should have a clear deadline. Setting realistic timeframes generate a sense of urgency and encourage sustained effort. Help your child break larger goals into smaller milestones and create timelines that correlate to school timetables, examinations, holidays, and other commitments.

Dr. Srishty P. Gajbhiye

Developing growth mindsets

In her best-seller book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006), American psychologist and Stanford University’s Prof. Carol Dweck advised development of the ‘growth mindset’ — belief that one’s skills and capabilities can be nurtured through effort and perseverance. “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work — brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment,” writes Dr. Dweck.

Drawing from Prof. Dweck’s valuable work, Dr. Gajbhiye suggests some practical ways — “positive prompts” — to develop a growth mindset in children.

Affirmation mirror (3-16 years). Ask your child to stand in front of a mirror. Encourage her to repeat positive affirmations about herself, such as “I am getting better at learning the guitar every day,” or “I can do it!”

Affirmation bracelets (5-16). Create bead bracelets with your child. Each bead can have a positive statement or word (e.g, ‘brave,’ ‘strong,’ ‘creative’). Wearing these bracelets serves as a reminder of her talents and capabilities.

Goal ladder visualisation (6-16). Discuss a specific goal with your child (e.g, learning to ride a bike). Imagine a ladder with steps leading to the goal. Ask her to visualise herself climbing each step, overcoming challenges along the way.

Success journal (8-16). Provide a small notebook or journal. Encourage her to write down her achievements. Reflecting on past successes reinforces belief in personal capabilities.

Role models and heroes (6-16). Introduce children to inspiring role models and fictional heroes. Discuss the challenges they faced and how they overcame them to succeed.

Problem-solving challenges (8-16). Present real-life scenarios or challenges. Guide her through the problem-solving steps. Celebrate her efforts and solutions, reinforcing her confidence.

Strengths inventory (10-16). Help her identify her unique strengths (e.g, creativity, empathy, perseverance). Write them down and discuss how these strengths can be developed for success.

Visualisation board (10-16). Similar to a vision board, but focused on self-development. Include images, quotes, and symbols representing children’s goals and capabilities. Review the board and progress regularly together.

Challenge cards (6-16). Create cards with different challenges (e.g, solving a puzzle, learning a new skill). Let her randomly pick a challenge to attempt. Celebrate her efforts, regardless of outcome.

Positive self-talk jar (6-16). Fill a jar with slips of paper containing positive statements. When she faces self-doubt, encourage her to pick a slip and read it aloud. Encourage her to internalise these affirmations.

These activities help children recognise their capabilities, develop resolve, and strong sense of self-efficacy.

Sports as an enabler

The beginning of a new academic year is an ideal time to enrol children in one or more sports programmes and make physical activity integral to their daily routine. Engagement with sports provides a structured pathway for children to develop focus, perseverance, confidence, resilience, teamwork and time-management skills — qualities that contribute to success inside and outside classrooms.

“Sports education teaches children the value of setting goals, working steadily towards achieving them and learning from victory and setbacks. Whether children compete or enjoy sports recreationally, lessons learned on the playing field develop children’s growth mindset and determination to pursue excellence. Moreover, playing games and sports teaches time management as children learn to balance training schedules with academics. It builds their confidence and self-esteem as they experience the satisfaction of achieving milestones through sustained effort. I strongly recommend parents to enrol children in sports programmes at the start of the academic year as it’s an invaluable and enjoyable way to nurture well-rounded children better equipped to navigate challenges and embrace lifelong learning,” says Serah Menezes, Head of Mental Health in Sport at the Simply Sport Foundation, Bengaluru and former national-level tennis player and internationally certified coach.

Beyond school learning/courses

The new academic year is also a good time to encourage children to enrol in short-term offline (after-school/weekend) or online courses that dovetail with their interests, help them acquire new skills and develop expertise in subjects that may not be sufficiently covered in school. Whether it is nutrition, artificial intelligence, computer coding, fashion design, astronomy or a foreign language, completing a well-designed course boosts children’s knowledge, confidence and sense of accomplishment.

Online learning platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, Simplilearn, Edureka and Unacademy offer a wide range of courses featuring instructional videos, reading material, assignments, quizzes and assessments. These programmes enable children to learn at their own pace while developing self-discipline and independent learning skills. In particular, for high school children, carefully chosen enrichment courses support future academic and career aspirations.

However, since most children already have demanding school schedules, parents should select courses that complement rather than overwhelm their current curriculums. The goal is not to add pressure, but to broaden children’s horizons and nurture curiosity.

Creative hobbies

“Encouraging children to pursue a creative hobby and extra-curricular interest is a great way to begin the new school year. In increasingly competitive academic environments, engaging hobbies offer children opportunity to relax, express themselves creatively and build confidence outside the classroom. Parents should encourage children to actively engage in one or more hobbies that match their interests and aptitudes,” says Ayushika Anand, a Bengaluru-based child psychologist and parenting coach.

Anand recommends the following three hobbies for Gen Alpha:

Aeromodelling. Aeromodelling is the art and science of designing, building and flying model aircraft. It combines creativity with principles of science, technology and engineering. Children can begin with assembling simple, ready-to-fly kits and gradually progress to building and customising their own models. Aeromodelling clubs and training centres provide safe, supervised environments where children can learn flying techniques and interact with like-minded enthusiasts.

Skills acquisition. Aeromodelling enhances children’s spatial awareness, concentration, patience and fine motor skills. It also nurtures problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities as children learn to troubleshoot design and flight challenges.

Computer coding. Computer coding is the process of giving instructions to computers to perform specific tasks, solve problems and build digital applications and products. Learning computer coding helps children develop logical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills. It enables children to transform from passive consumers of technology to active creators, empowering them to design games, animations, websites and simple mobile applications.

Introduce children to beginner-friendly platforms such as Scratch and Tynker, which use colourful block-based programming to teach coding concepts. As their confidence and skills grow, they can progress to text-based programming languages such as Python and JavaScript through age-appropriate online courses.

Skills acquisition. Coding develops analytical thinking, persistence and attention to detail. It teaches children to break complex problems into manageable steps and encourages experimentation and innovation.

Vlogging. Vlogging is the art of creating and sharing videos online to document personal experiences, thoughts, and/or a specific subject. They are like blogs but use video instead of text to convey information and opinions. Children can start by documenting their daily life, family holidays, nature walks, etc, and share vlogs with family or in supervised online groups.

Skills acquisition. Vlogging improves children’s vocal, presentation and storytelling skills.

Early childhood goals setting

Youngest children greatly benefit from learning how to set and achieve simple goals. Setting small, age-appropriate goals and attaining them builds confidence, responsibility, perseverance and sense of accomplishment. Bengaluru-based psychologist and life coach Dr. Srishty P. Gajbhiye suggests some goal-setting ideas for young children:

Reading challenge. Set a goal to read a specific number of books during a month. Track progress and celebrate milestones to nurture a lifelong love of reading.

Room organisation. Encourage children to keep their room tidy by breaking the task into smaller goals such as making the bed, organising toys and arranging books. Celebrate accomplishments in maintaining a tidy room.

Culinary adventure. Set the goal to learn a new recipe. Following step-by-step instructions and helping children prepare a meal teaches attention to detail, patience and basic life skills.

Acts of kindness. Encourage children to perform one act of kindness every day — sharing toys, helping a sibling, writing thank-you notes or assisting a neighbour. This nurtures empathy and social awareness.

Healthy eating habits. Set a goal to eat a healthy snack/fruit every day. This provides good opportunity to teach children about fruits and vegetables. Celebrate every healthy food choice.