Long back, wise Confucius remarked, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The words of the famous philosopher still continue to reverberate in the minds of the young. Undoubtedly, there lies a world of veracity and wisdom within this statement. However, when those who love you the most -your parents, have different views regarding your career choice, whose dream do you follow? From a young age, parents begin doing everything they can to ensure their children will be successful throughout their lives from enrolling their children in the best schools to retaining high expectations of their children’s grades. The influence of parents in determining their career choice can be profound. It is quite blatant to us that in the long-standing family business, a stage is set for a child to take over. This in turn, affects doctors who would rather have been actors and engineers who really wanted to write novels. For eons now, especially in our country, more specifically talking about Kashmir, we have encountered numerous teens getting pressured by their parents to go to college or get a good government job. Some parents think it is out of the mental capacity of children to select a suitable profession for themselves. As an outcome of this pressure, many parents take it upon themselves to select their child’s career. Parents do have a right to say what they want their kids to do, but they need to realize that their children will grow up eventually. Parents with intelligent children are being accused of pushing their children to perform at high levels sooner than others. There has also been considerable concern that parents’ expectations create foster performance anxiety in their children. In a study by Bregman and Killen, it was documented that adolescents valued parental influence and guidance in the area of career choice and vocational development. So, it is important for parents to give students support and encouragement to explore the many options available to find the best career fit. Parents need to keep the lines of communication open and recognize that their role is simply to act as a facilitator in their child’s career journey and allow independent career choices.
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