I was involved in a discussion about supporting your children in their dreams, no matter what those dreams are. I looked back on my childhood and remember my mother being very positive about all the things I hoped to do, and in the interplay of families I took on a few of her dreams too.
But she had nothing on her father who when one of his sons said he wanted to be a doctor came home with an entire set of a medical encyclopedia and promptly gave them to a ten year old.
Dreams are important but even more so is to help children understand that some of their dreams are put into their heads by others. To dream of ‘status’ is not as worthy as dreaming of giving happiness not for any ethical reasons or the airy-fairy nature of happiness, but because wanting to be looked-up to is only a hormonal driven desire whilst wanting to find happiness in the chaotic stream of events which make up life, is tantamount to wisdom.
Most dreams we have seem to centre of who we will be amidst all the others busily being. Intellectually that is of no importance. Become a doctor and ignore how you are looked-up in society, become a lawyer and ignore how you are admired in society, become a President and ignore the kudos.
Dream of self worth.