Yet another thing inspired by practice today. I have this one kid who is a sophomore who has an over bearing parent.(there is always at least 2 per year) who swears his kid is the second coming of Walter Payton. "My son got some sweet ass moves, he's got speed, why is he not starting at tailback or wide reciever!. Why is he not getting his reps! You are ruining my sons future cause he is not getting the damn ball in his hands! You will regret it when he is in the NFL!" Mind you this kid is talented, and I feel like he can help me out this year but next year will be when I will need him most. This year he is 4th at wide reciever and 3rd at running back. I run a one back spread with 4 wide recievers, or a Wing option variation, depending on what team I face, so as a 4th reciever he should get his looks. The problem is two of my wideouts and my running back are going to get scholarships, and he plays defensive end, on defense where I have one of the best recruits in the nation lining up. Seriously the kid is getting looked at by Notre Dame, USC, Florida, you name it. WHat boggles my mind is this parent insists his kid is going to the NFL like he has no say in the matter. I love my job but I highly doubt it is what my father envisioned for me, but I created my own destiny. Which begs the above question. So answer it.

course not!

No, what if they weren't happy with what I picked.

Absolutely not!

Hell no!

No

no

No. What a silly question..

Hell, I've already picked my kids' career.

I want them to be radiologists.

That being said, I know that if my daughters went into medicine and became radiologists, they would have the potential to be more financially successful than I could ever dream for them, but do I PUSH them to do it? Do I badger them? Am I a "Radiologist Mom"?

No.

The bottom line I want them to be happy. I want them to find their own ways. And I don't want to be financially supporting them past college.

To answer your question, yes.

Now if you asked me if I wanna be like the dad you described, then no. I do not want to live vicariously through my kid like that guy clearly is doing and, no I don't want to be dillusional about my kid's abilities or whatever. But if, at birth, I could select what career my son would pursue I would do that.
I would be checking the box marked "neurosurgeon" or "professor" or well, anyway... I would.

What I find sort of scary are the listings I see in Craigslist from professional couples who are looking for egg donors from certain groups of women, whether they be Ivy League students, certain religions (Baptist, Jewish, etc.), or certain professions (doctors, lawyers, supermodels). What makes these people think that their kids are going to grow up to be someone incredibly special? (Although it's possible that the supermodel-donated offspring may grow up to be gorgeous.) Just because the child may show some signs of having aptitude to excelling in certain professions, that doesn't mean that the particular profession is right for that child. And as for a lot of the major business titans in the country, a large number of them dropped out of college or had only a high school education yet parlayed their dreams into business empires. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to form Microsoft with Paul Allen, and the guy who founder Famous Amos had only a GED. The guy who founded Starbucks originally just wanted to create a cafe that sold some decent coffee. Most of these success stories don't require more than a high school education.

no. no matter what i choose he or she will still resent me for choosing it. besides, isn't the fun of life trying to figure out what your profession will be...

No. I wouldn't want him/her to grow up dependent on other people.

yes of course.
I really don't want porn star child or anyone working in the Bush cabinet. Stuff like that.

I think parents have a profession for the future of their child in mind, but not necesarily force their child to become a doctor for example when they grew up. I do know of people that have pressure from parents to pursue medical careers in college.
[Edited 7/13/07 18:39pm]

UH no.....Hell I didn't even know for sure what I wanted to do till I was 35, why would I chose something for someone else at birth?

No

I already told Lucy she's going to be a haberdasher, no arguments.