<p>Well I agree with you that merely “understanding” you will have fewer choices doesn’t neccessarily prompt action, I’m not sure what’s the best way to provide an example of this.</p>
<p>I think back to my own growing up and I know that I had the benefit of ‘multiple children’ in a family as was mentioned earlier. It was clearly established in our house that Mom & Dad would not “make” anyone go to college. It was too expensive a proposition with 7 children. My parents were always willing to help any of us get to college (& partially pay for it), but no one was going to go if they didn’t demonstrate that they wanted to be there.</p>
<p>For ex. 3 of my older sibs did go to college after hs grad., but two others did not (& their hs grades reflected their lack of interest in continuing their education beyond hs at that point in time). However, my parents told them they needed to get jobs. So they did…one worked in insurance & one worked for a bank and then for IRS as a clerk. They both also had to start paying “rent” ( a minimal amt.) to help them learn about handling living expenses. </p>
<p>My point is, I got to see both options in front of me via my siblings paths. So it really helped me see that there was nothing wrong with getting a job after hs, or going to college after hs. My parents would support me either way, but I knew I had to be doing something constructive with myself one way or the other!
So if the OP can talk frankly with her son about life after hs, it can help him see that work & motivation now (or lack of it) will impact his choices 2 yrs from now.</p>