Philosophy...

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

Most parents long to provide their children with the best they can offer on every level. But what is "the best"?

Less enlightened parents will see in the child a symbol of all the lost potentials of their own youth, and will envision not the future toward which the child is best suited to aspire, but the future which they would have wished for themselves.

More enlightened parents will understand the wisdom of Kahlil Gibran's words, recognising not only the magic of the child as a symbol of new life, but also the profound gift of being caretaker for a developing soul with a unique individuality and a life journey which cannot be dictated in advance. Children have their own inherent blueprint for life, independent of external factors.

I know the type of parent I wish to aspire to...