A “Plan B” is good to have. It is also a good thing to teach your children about.

Have your child think about someone he knows or knows of whose special interest or talent became his career – a cook on a TV show, an athlete at a sporting event, a doctor, the weatherman on TV, etc.

Talk about what those individuals might have done, if they weren’t able to be a cook, athlete, doctor, or weatherman. Could they have written a cookbook? Been a coach or sold sports equipment? Invented a new medicine? Been a science teacher?

Talk about why a Plan B is a good idea – not to stop a person from following his Plan A dreams but to make a person know that he can deal with whatever happens. Talk about how education is an important part of both a Plan A and a Plan B.

Have your child make a list of three things he does really well – better than many others. Or, things he is especially interested in – more than in other things. Have him imagine what his PLAN B might be, if for some reason, he couldn’t turn his special talent into a future career.