Embracing Change

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By Andrea Delbanco

Editor in Chief, TIME for Kids

I recently heard the term “knowledge workers.” I wondered: Who is that? Is that me? When my team writes TIME for Kids stories, I make sure they avoid jargon like this and use plain language wherever possible. So I love, for example, how my friend Mia Tramz describes her former desk job as “inside work” and her current job on an organic farm as “outside work.”

I reported on Mia’s professional transformation for TFK’s career-exploration platform, Your Hot Job. I rarely have time to write stories these days, but I came out of hibernation because this is a tale I’m especially excited to tell. Her story will help kids recognize that it’s not only acceptable to make a major change—in fact, it’s great.

Being comfortable with change is one of the best qualities we can teach our kids. As it relates to their future work, TFK’s executive editor Allie Singer puts it best: “When we set out to develop a career-education site for kids, I knew that I would come to understand what made each career unique. But I didn’t know I’d also find a common thread—a factor that unites many professionals in careers that bring them ongoing satisfaction. That uniting factor: embracing change.”

You can teach children to embrace change by showing them success stories. That’s one of the reasons we made this special issue of TIME for Kids—and the related resources for parents and caregivers—available for free. I hope you’ll check it out with the kids in your life. When you do, let me know what you think. You can find me, as always, at andrea@time.com.

Best,
Andrea