Giving your child career advice

According to the Edge Foundation, 42 per cent of 18-30 year olds believe they took the wrong educational path because of parental influence. Harry Freedman offers tips on how to give your children the best career advice to ensure they have a long and happy working life

We all want the best for our kids. But most of us are guilty, at least some of the time, of trying too hard. We know from our own life experience just how hard it is to get by without enough money, and just how many blows life can deal us.

So we strive to encourage our children into a career that we believe is right for them. But we are not them. And as well as we may know them, we cannot choose their careers any more than we can choose their friends or their tastes in fashion, music or food.

What precautions should I take to make sure I do not send my child down the wrong path?

Parents and children are required to make choices at key stages during their educational career. And each choice carries with it the danger that your child is being directed down a path that may not suit them.

A good school will give your child a good education. But it can also pigeonhole them. So it is important to make sure that you child enjoys the subjects she or he is learning. It is no good choosing an educational curriculum that the child is good at, if they don't enjoy it. That's when you risk sowing the seeds of career dissatisfaction.