One week they want to be a vet. The next, they’re convinced they’re going to be an astronaut. Here’s why changing their minds might actually be a good thing.
Ask a child what they want to be when they grow up and you could get a very different answer depending on the day.
Today, it’s a footballer. Tomorrow, a vet. Next week, perhaps a YouTuber, artist, astronaut or dinosaur expert.
For parents, it can be tempting to wonder whether we should be taking these ambitions seriously. Should we be helping them work towards their dream, or gently reminding them that some careers are more realistic than others?
According to Ed Kim, VP of Education at Code Ninjas, constantly changing their minds isn’t something parents should necessarily worry about. In fact, it can be a sign that children are doing exactly what they should be doing: exploring the world around them.
Children aren’t supposed to have it all figured out
Very few children have a clear idea of what they want their adult life to look like, and they certainly aren’t expected to.
Research published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications found that around 60% of children aged between seven and 11 changed their career aspirations over a three-year period.*
And when you think about how much children learn and experience during those years, it’s hardly surprising.
They’re discovering new hobbies, meeting different people, learning about unfamiliar jobs and finding out what they enjoy – and what they don’t.
A child who is fascinated by animals might decide they want to become a vet, only to discover a few months later that what they really love is being outdoors. Another might dream of becoming a footballer because they enjoy competition and being part of a team, rather than because they have their heart set on a professional sporting career.
Changing their minds gives children the opportunity to explore all of these possibilities.
Look beyond the job title
Rather than concentrating too much on what your child says they want to be, it can be more useful to think about why.
If your child announces that they’re going to be a vet, ask them what they like about being a vet.
Is it because they love animals? Do they enjoy caring for things? Are they fascinated by how the body works?
If they want to be a footballer, perhaps it’s the teamwork, competition or excitement that appeals to them.
And if they’re desperate to become a YouTuber, maybe what they’re really interested in is storytelling, making people laugh, creating videos or sharing their ideas.
Even the aspiring astronaut might be telling you something important about themselves. Perhaps they’re fascinated by space, adventure, discovery or understanding how things work.
These conversations can help children understand their own interests without making them feel that they’ve committed to a particular career.
The skills that matter whatever they do
The jobs our children will eventually do may not even be ones we can predict today. What is more useful to nurture are the skills that can travel with them from one situation to another.
Being able to solve problems, communicate ideas, work with other people, think creatively and keep going when something doesn’t work out are valuable skills in almost any environment.
And these don’t need to be taught through formal career planning.
Children develop them while they’re building things, playing games, trying new activities, working on projects, figuring out a tricky puzzle or attempting something for the third time because their first two attempts didn’t work.
Sometimes, letting them struggle with a problem for a little while – rather than immediately stepping in to solve it – can be one of the most useful things a parent can do.
Encourage curiosity rather than a five-year plan
If your eight-year-old tells you they’re going to become an astronaut, there’s no need to start planning their GCSEs.
Instead, follow their curiosity.
Read books about space. Visit a science museum. Watch a documentary together. Make a model rocket. Ask questions. See where their interest takes them.
The same applies to almost any childhood ambition.
A budding chef might enjoy helping to prepare dinner. A child fascinated by animals could visit a farm or wildlife centre. Someone obsessed with football might enjoy learning about the science behind sport, while a child interested in making videos could experiment with storytelling or animation.
The aim isn’t to turn every childhood interest into a career pathway. It’s simply to give children opportunities to explore the things that excite them.
What to say when the dream changes again
When your child announces yet another career ambition, it can be easy to respond with, “But I thought you wanted to be a vet?”
Instead, try asking:
“What do you like about that?”
It’s a simple question, but it can open up a much more interesting conversation.
You might discover that your child isn’t actually interested in the job itself. They may be drawn to helping people, creating things, solving problems, performing, working outdoors or being part of a team.
Those underlying interests are much more useful to explore than whether their latest dream is a “realistic” career choice.
And there’s no harm in letting them change their mind again next week.
Don’t confuse encouragement with pressure
It’s natural for parents to want their children to succeed. But there’s a difference between encouraging ambition and creating an expectation that they need to achieve a particular future.
Children need space to try things, get things wrong, lose interest and start again.
That doesn’t mean lowering expectations. It means recognising that childhood is a time for exploration.
Clubs, hobbies, family days out, creative projects and new experiences can all give children opportunities to discover what they enjoy – without turning those activities into another thing they have to be good at.
And adults change careers too
Perhaps the most reassuring thing for parents is to remember that adults don’t always know what they want to do either.
People change jobs, retrain, move into completely different industries and discover new interests throughout their working lives.
So if we accept that adults can change direction, there’s little reason to expect a seven-, eight- or nine-year-old to choose a career and stick to it.
The dream job isn’t really the important bit.
What’s much more valuable is helping children become confident enough to explore their interests, resilient enough to cope when things don’t go to plan, and curious enough to keep learning.
Because today’s aspiring vet might become an engineer tomorrow – and that’s perfectly okay.
This article includes expert commentary from Ed Kim, VP of Education at Code Ninjas.
For more information about Code Ninjas, visit codeninjas.co.uk.
Source: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, “Making their minds up: flux and stability in young children’s career aspirations” (2025).
About Code Ninjas: Code Ninjas is a kids’ coding and STEM education franchise offering programmes for children aged 5–14 in the US, Canada and the UK. Founded in 2016, its curriculum uses game-based learning to teach coding, robotics and problem-solving.
