About a week ago, I was driving with my son to the mall, and I asked him the question: What do you want to do with your life when you finish school? It turned into quite a heated discussion, because he couldn't really tell me. In fact, he had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do when he finish school.

Yesterday in class, I asked the exact same question to my students and very few of them could give me a direct answer.

It scared me.

Are we protecting our children too much?

In today's life we have thousands of young people going out in the world and they have no idea what they want to do with their lives.

One of the main reasons are that they obviously do not get enough career guidance in schools, but in the age of technology in which we live, most of these kids grew up totally different than we did.

They are not exposed enough, and perhaps we pamper our own kids too much, because they know that we won't force them into a specific direction like most of us were.

Don't get me wrong. My kids are VERY important to me, and I will do ANYTHING to protect my children, but I can't help thinking. Did I give too easily? Did I save them from situations where they could have saved themselves?

My son is now second year at university, and he is enjoying himself. His academics are excellent, so I can't complain there, but I don't expect him to get a job for pocket money, I provide him with everything. He is just too busy to study and to get a job, and I understand that.

BUT

When I was about sixteen years old, I got my first job. I became a waitress, and it had such a great impact in my life. For the first time I had money to spend as I like. The job was awful, but I learned so much about people, and even though it was awful at times with pretty long hours, I pushed through it all, and that experience made me a better person. I could do both. I could work and do school at the same time, and I survived.

BUT

It was a different time and age. We were still able to walk home at night at two o clock in the morning, and we were safe. Nowadays, I can't even send my youngest child with his bicycle to the shop to go and buy bread, because the danger is too much. Firstly he might be attacked on his way to the shop, and secondly they might steal his bike if he leaves it outside the shop. Am I protecting him too much?

We live our lives from day to day, but life is so much different than when I was young. In this time of technology are we doing the right things for our children? It scares me that I have to send my children into a world, where no one really knows what they are doing. For the life of me, I can't figure out if I had failed as a parent or if I had just adapted to the world.

If I look at my eldest son, I can see that he is strong and determined. So that part is great, but have I done enough? In this life and times, where are our children going to end up?

Life scares me. I've taught my kids the values of life, and I can't keep the with me forever, although I would if I could. Perhaps I'm just paranoid.