Most children aren’t interested in writing a book. They want to spend time with friends, on social media, and partaking in various peer-approved activities. It’s these that frequently worry parents, leaving them wondering how they can help their children.

One of the biggest issues facing children, particularly teenagers, is that their brains are still developing, and they don’t generally think about the long-term consequences of an action. This, and peer pressure, can lead to them acting out, smoking, trying drugs, drinking, and other risky behaviors.

In most cases, it’s simply a case of good children making bad choices. We’ve all been there. It’s just the problems and pressures children face today are different.

While there are many things you can do to help your child, one that may prove beneficial is writing their own book.

The Book Writing Process

Selling the idea of writing their own book may be easier than you think. While you can incentivize them with a suitable reward, motivating them with the right plotline is possible.

Start by brainstorming plot ideas, the more outlandish, the better. The aim is to get your child thinking about writing.

It’s then a good idea to talk about characters. In particular, you’ll want to cover protagonists, antagonists, and the importance of dynamic and static characters. They should understand that it’s these characters that drive the story forward and engage the reader. This will encourage your child to think about the plotline and how a story would develop.

You’ll then need to step back and let them start writing. Help them create a writing slot where they write for a designated period every day. Let them know you won’t read what they have written without their permission.

Their book may develop into a full story, or it may simply be a jumble of their thoughts, more like a journal.

Both scenarios can help your at-risk child.

Change of Focus  

Children often have one-track minds that revolve around doing what they love the most, whether that’s hanging out with friends, using social media, or even drinking. They can lose focus on everything else.

Making time to write a little every day means teens have another outlet for their energy and learn to focus on one task at a time. Getting them to write daily is a good start toward managing time properly.

This will help reduce their exposure to at-risk activities. It can also help your child develop some of the skills they’ll need throughout their working life.

In addition, discipline and dedication to scheduled writing are excellent ways for your child to learn time management skills.

Awareness of Consequences

Writing a book means crafting a beginning, middle, and end. In other words, your child will be forced to consider the consequences of the actions and decisions their characters have made. The book can’t be finished without developing an understanding of the consequences.

Developing this understanding of consequences is a great starting point for planning for their future. It also highlights that actions have consequences and are likely to make them think twice before they do something.  

Improved Self-Confidence

A key part of writing any book is to set small goals. For example, work out how long it should take to write a chapter and set a deadline for the first chapter.

When your child finishes the chapter within the deadline, they’ll feel a sense of achievement. This will motivate them to continue writing and help them believe they can achieve anything they put their mind to. It will effectively boost their self-confidence.

Build Empathy

Most children will write based on their own experiences. This is the simplest approach, but it still forces them to consider how the other characters act and why. It’s something they may not think about in everyday life.

Considering other characters helps them understand why people act in specific ways. Without trying, they will empathize with the other characters and the decisions they make.

This will encourage them to think about others more and understand how their actions affect others. Building empathy is a valuable skill for life and will reduce the likelihood of them undertaking risky behavior.

Summing Up

Getting your child to write a book isn’t about making them a published author or even giving them a source of income. It’s an opportunity for them to express their feelings, find out more about themselves, and hopefully gain an awareness of their at-risk behavior.

Best of all, you’re not trying to teach them anything, the writing should be fun for them, allowing them to become more aware of risks and the decisions they are making.

They are likely to be more receptive to this if it doesn’t look like you’re pushing them to write.