As young people grow up, they build skills and knowledge that are important to them as youth, and that become more important as they become more independent and grow older. Becoming fully engaged in the world around themselves leaves youth and personal development as important things to think about and work towards.

You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequences of your choices.

—Proverb

Some of the issues young people can address through personal development include:

• Increasing self-awareness
• Learning new skills, including communication, visioning and goal setting, life planning, etc.
• Developing self-respect and self-esteem
• Building strengths and talents
• Identifying employability
• Enhancing quality of life
• Improving health
• Enriching social abilities
• Fostering independent living skills such as educational planning, money management, bill paying, etc.
• Managing transitions and rites-of-passage

Youth personal development can happen a lot of different ways. They include self-led learning, communication training, action to develop skills, self-motivation, and group activities.

You Might Like…

• Youth as Advocates
• Youth and Homeschooling
• Youth, Parents, Parenting and Families

Elsewhere Online

• “Education as a motivator for immigrant youth’s personal development” by Robert Bernstein for Island Voices
• “Personal Development“, Portland Youth Builders
• “Personal development” by South Dakota State University 4H
• “Personal Development Programs” by Youth Services Wyndham
• Reasons for Living: Education and Young People’s Search for Meaning, Identity and Spirituality: A Handbook by Marisa Crawford and Graham Rossiter for the Australian Council for Educational Research

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Other tools are out there, too – share your thoughts in the comments below! For more information about how The Freechild Project can support youth engagement in personal development in your community or organization, contact us.