Empowering Futures: Navigating Parental Dilemmas in Career Choices

“Parenting is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you'd have.” – Brene Brown.

Parents fear of making wrong decisions about their child's career which can put them into a lot of pressure as they dont want the child to face failure. But sometimes it becomes overwhelming for their child and makes them feel pressured or unheard and the generation gap adds another struggle of understanding between parent and child. So it's necessary to have an open conversation with their child, try to understand their point of view and then do their own research.

This can be best explained from very famous actor R.Madhavan who himself being a famous actor openly accepts his child career choice of being in sports, in which his son succeeded in achieving 5 gold in swimming. Another great example is portrayed from the movie ‘Gunjan Saxena’ based on real life story, where how father stood throughout the journey motivating his daughter to succeed in her field of interest of being a fighter pilot which during that period of time was a male dominated job, who after success served country in Kargil war.

PARENTS ROLE/ DILEMMA ON CHILD CAREER CHOICE

As a parent there needs to be balance between what they aspire from their child and what is the child’s actual interest and talent. Parents' expectations sometimes burden children which lead them to become more rebellious and eventually give up on a career which they are good at.

Following are troubles which parent face during the journey of enhancement and guidance for child:

1. Child wants to study abroad

There was a rise of 68% in 2022 compared to 2021 in students shifting abroad for higher studies, due to various reasons for a child like a hype on social media about life outside ,better standard of living, colleagues recommendation or just to experience the adventure. But parents feel intimidated by the decision and often find it difficult to explain their worries of not only fear of distance but also sometimes due to financial constraint.

An open and appropriate conversation where both sides can discuss the decision taking into consideration the complete scenario from the expectation of the child and also of the parent should be discussed.

2. Parent aspire for child to choose a stable career for future

As there are many upcoming new career options available due to the changing environment like social media influencer or gamer where parents due to little insight find it unstable career choice and for a child just to earn success in a short period of time and become famous brings a difference in understanding between parent and child. Hence both sides should understand both pros and cons of the career choice or get guidance regarding the same from a professional career counselor who can give them overall understanding about their career choice.

3. Push to prestigious or high status career by parents

A very famous dialogue of every indian father,” kapoor sahab ka beta dekho IIT me select ho gaya hai, tum bhi itni mehnat karo” Comparisons from relatives and neighbors do not break the heart of a child as much as comparisons by our parents do and that too from our own friends or siblings Parents do want their child to be successful in whatever they do and think that through comparison they are trying to motivate but in reality it works as a negative feeling for the child and due to a lot of stress they focus only on proving their worth instead of enjoying the process.

4. Information overload navigation

Due to so many career options it is tough not only for children but for parents too to make a decision and there is always fear of choosing a wrong career option. It is majorly due to the lakhs of career options available and so many colleges giving the courses for the same, so the confusion arises majorly based on which is the best course where our efforts could bring the best outcome. Sometimes due to even lack of proper information about alternatives also affects the decision making for the career choice.

Here is when career counseling can help in clearing the doubts by getting insight about aptitude and interest and based on which the best career choice that aligns both the aptitude- interest and the present best available careers can be recommended.

5. Generational difference

Another major issue in today's career path is the generation gap and as a child we always hear from parents about how they worked hard and studied under the street lights and crossing rivers to go to school, expecting the child to at least work hard in studies and choose a career that could bring stability and lots of job opportunities. Due to this generation gap the career choice also gets affected as parents only look for options which will provide high status in society but as a child they are more inclined towards career choice that will bring quick success.

Example that can better explain this scenario is one of the famous standup comedians Zakir Khan who belongs to the family of classical musicians went against the will of grandfather and chose to be a standup comedian.

6. Emotional involvement of parent

There are times when we hear our parents how they failed to achieve what they aspired to and somewhere unknowingly they expect their child to pursue the same career choice. They impose their own unfulfilled dreams and desires on children as they think they might later, with the help of child success, enjoy the same life they aspired to. And when they even do what their parents will them to do, later in life feel either too stressed or exhausted and this might even lead to depression as they think they failed their parents.

Also there are parents who want their child to pursue the already established career so that they can continue their legacy forward.

Like majority of the time we see doctor parents want their kids to pursue medicines or businessmen want their child to join family business but the child's interest and even aptitude might not align the parents career choice.

STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS DILEMMA

We all know that every problem has a solution, it's just that we have to look around for those solutions. The dilemma of parents for the child’s career and choices sometimes is the hard part to manage but few solutions not only bring out solutions but also provide insight about their strengths and thus build a strong bond and connect with the child.

Here are a few solutions that work best to not only bridge the gap between parent and child but also help both in getting a clear picture of what together they can do to fulfill the dream and aspiration of both child and parent.

1. Career counseling:

This is today's most need of the hour option and even the government is making the effort to invest and spread awareness for the same. As it involves experienced professionals and few psychometric tests to know about the child's aptitude and interest based on which, after thorough study on the result of the tests, the best career options is recommended. Career counseling can be conducted at school and colleges, at private institutes where parents are also involved in the process and online based counseling is also an option these days for ease.

2. Open communication:

One of the major reasons for confusion and dilemma is also the miscommunication or no communication at all between the parent and child. As both parents are working and have not enough time, they face this issue the most as the topic of career needs lots of listening and patience. Also due to that many students through little information form here and there get attracted to the career choice which does not align their aptitude. Thus through open communication and equal involvement of the parent makes the decision less tedious.

3. Support and flexibility:

Since the NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 by the government, a policy that aims in the development of student potential interest and creating holistic education has given a chance to school going students to choose subjects from science, commerce and arts according to their interest subjects. Also for college students, if they find a field of interest in some other field, they can switch in between and can get credit scores added after 50% completion of the course from the previous degree course. This gives the flexibility and sense of relief of not losing years in earlier courses and hence get a chance to explore and understand their field of interest.

4. Research and awareness:

There are career institutes who through proper in detail research and staying updated with the progression of the field can provide counseling and information to students and parents and make their work a little easy and also provide an authentic career path to achieve the end goal.

CONCLUSION

There is an institute outside India on career counseling in which not only psychometric tests are conducted by the psychologists along with one-to-one counseling but also there are 1 week to 1 month course practical experience to have insight about the complete career path which makes their journey a little easy and are also mentally prepared for the kind of efforts that will be required.

Such an effort if begun in India can help students to feel empowered to explore their options. The collaborative effort of both parents and children can embrace the path of both stability and fulfillment. This also makes the relationship healthier and a satisfying career path for children.