Most parents exert dictatorial influence on their children’s career decision making just to live on through someone else’s life.


They try to undo life mistakes and fulfilled failed dreams through the lives of their children. This is the primary cause of many parents overbearing influence on their children’s career decision making.


In most families, such influence usually turns out to be a disservice to an innocent kid at the point of making a life time decision; especially in a career choice.

To avoid guiding your child to an unfulfilling adult life, a parent should be an observer of a xhild’s career decision making. Give wise counsel not orders.
To know where to draw the line, it’s necessary to understand qualities that separate a good parent from a bad one.


What are qualities of a good parent?

A good parent gives love unconditionally. Love is not given as a reward but as a freely. However, the love is not given without placing limits on tolerable habits.

Although it’s impossible to cover all grounds but most of these limits should be clearly spelt out well in advance. Frequent reminders should be made.

A good parent is patient. Children by their age, experience and stage of development are most times going to do things you as a parent disapprove of. When they get you upset, don’t overreeact. Be patient, seek an explanation and take the time to educate them on why a word or action can’t be tolerated.

Encourage and support your child through phases and challenges. A good parent regards this as one of the top parenting duties. They use their experience, age and strong emotional intelligence to create develop dependable shoulders for their children to lean on. A child is emotionally strengthened when they realize that there’s a dependable parent waiting to be a part of their tough times.

A good parent is a role model that multi-tasks and provides strong leadership. This is important because a parent is the first agent of socialization. Remember, the world is a social space where people look up to others for direction. So, children naturally turn to their parents first to provide leadership and mentorship.

Most parents are aware of the leadership role expected of them by their children. Regrettably, most have seized this opportunity to perpetuate themselves in that role well into a child’s adult life.

Parents in this category would want to influence their children’s career decision making. What they fail to acknowledge is that the child, now an adult, knows their strengths, weaknesses, and passions better than anyone else.

A knowledge of one’s true self, is one of the most fundamental career decision making considerations.

If the statement above is true, shouldn’t parents have little influence on their children’s career choices? After helping a child to get quality formal and informal trainings, a parent should step back. Let the child pick a career they feel would give them happiness and fulfilment in life.

A good parent doesn’t ask to live a life’s encore to the detriment of a child’s happy life. You, as a parent, wouldn’t want to be blamed for a child’s career failure. The joy of a responsible parent is to live to see their child enjoy a successful life.

So when you’re done making the biggest sacifrice humanly possible. Which is, putting your life on hold to prepare your child for a great future, move on when the child becomes an adult. Move on to something else. You’re never too old to either set bigger goals or start again.

https://ayietim.com/2021/07/21/parenting-how-to-contribute-positively-to-your-childs-career-decision-making/