4 Ways to Impact Your Child’s Future as a Parent

College enrollment is dropping. According to the Education Data Initiative, “College enrollment totaled 19.4 million students nationwide in Fall 2025, down 7.66% from peak enrollment in 2010 (21.0 million).”

Many students are pursuing trade schools or their own businesses. With the rise in technology, students know they can solve problems on their own and achieve dreams without a degree. 

I get it. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in 2025, and when I received my diploma, I told my mom: “I did all that work for this slip of paper?” Honestly, it felt anticlimactic. 

Homeschoolers know they can take a different path. More and more homeschool parents are entrepreneurs, so students know they don’t have to choose the 9-5 life stamped by a degree. According to LendingTree, 51% of Gen Z people are interested in starting their own business. 

Like education, the workforce is shifting. The way we work and the way we want to work can look completely different. So how do we teach this to our children?

• Rework your mindset on traditional academic and workforce careers. 
• Be open to their interests. 
• Stand your ground against the norm.
• Use our Freedom 15 course. 

Workforce Shift

Rework your mindset. We all have beliefs. Many of us see the 9-5 life as the answer. However, that doesn’t have to be the case for your child. The future is changing. 

Your child can work remotely in Portugal, running their own clothing line. Or they can work in an auto repair shop in Wyoming. They don’t have to choose debt and a 4-year degree. They can choose a different path – one without student loans and a slip of paper that implies “You’re worthy.”

Rework your mindset on this issue. Look at how your homeschooler can train themselves to learn a skill. With access to Wi-Fi and the ability to learn, your homeschooler is unstoppable. That being said, be open to their interests. They may want to go to trade school or learn on their own. They may love fishing or designing software. Be open to it. 

Next, if your child chooses a unique path, they will receive negative feedback. I chose to save money and graduate debt-free from college. I studied fully online, and gosh, people said some nasty things to me about that. They were even more aggressive about my college choice than my homeschooling choice. Yikes! I learned to have a backbone and stand up for myself appropriately. Discuss how you can all stand your ground as a family when someone questions your child’s career decision. Assertiveness is sometimes required to set boundaries (see the NAMI article linked below).

Lastly, enroll your homeschooler in our Freedom 15 course. This course teaches students how to run their business through real-world application. The coursework educates young business owners and then requires them to apply their knowledge in the world. They’ll learn how to operate and market their business. Our course applies hands-on tasks with coursework so students are prepared before they even graduate. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, take these four steps to help impact your homeschooler’s future. These steps will help you grow with them as they transition into adulthood. Homeschoolers can choose a different path – they don’t have to fit in. 

They already know how to stand strong in their own path. You can help them do this as you rework and shift your own mindset. You can show support for your homeschooler by embracing their interests and teaching them to stand their ground. 

The nxt generation doesn’t have to be traditional. They can stand out and show the world that the traditional workforce is transforming.

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- NxtEra

Written by Bethany (@thebookwormgirl_bethany)

Sources: 

College Enrollment Statistics [2026]: Total + by Demographic

Gen Z Fuels Startup Interest | LendingTree 

BTS-Setting-Boundries-Guide.pdf