[oceanica]

I was just thinking about a discussion I had with my brother who has two sons, ages 9 and 11. He seems to think he can "see" what they are good at and direct them into a career that would be best for them. Now Athena is 8 weeks and of course I often think about what she will be like when she grows up and what career she will pursue... will she go to medical school like me (she'd be a good surgeon with her long fingers, or a piano player), or will she go into sports or be in politics or science... heck she could even be the first female black president someday!! And should I enroll her in gymnastics or guitar or singing classes when she gets older? But he takes it awfully far, as if he's to decide what they will be. He says that his son is good at writing and struggles at math so he is going to direct him into a journalism career where he can write for a magazine or newspaper or something and have a "good job". He has other ideas for the younger son. He backs this up by telling me that someone he knows is a roofer and so is his son. Idk, it seems awfully presumptous to me... isn't the good thing about this country that we can be what we want to be and we aren't in predetermined roles? What if his son doesn't want a "job" and wants to work for himself or own his own business like my brother and I do?
No one else in my family is a physician and yet I am. How much do we affect our children's career choices, and how much influence is the right amount?