Parents... Are They Really Necessary?

Even little Tommy is skeptical of his pending childhood

11/20/2011:

Reading through the biography of Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, it is apparent that his mother and father had a strong influence in his development during the early years of his life.  He was able to find success within his passion and had full support along the way while growing up.
Unfortunately for most of us, that is not the case.

The Selfish Gene Theory is something that is discussed in Richard Dawkins's book The Selfish Gene which states that the more two individuals are genetically related, the more sense (at the level of the genes) it makes for them to behave selflessly with each other.  However, is that something that is forgotten when it comes to parenting?  Parents become selfish in their mentoring of children.

How many of us wanted to be non-traditional occupations growing up such as actors/actresses, musicians, astronauts, chefs, writers, or photographers only to be told by parents to pursue more stable or socially acceptable occupations like doctors, lawyers, teachers, service men and women, etc.

The biggest detriment of a child's imagination comes from its parents' influence.  The same influence that will tell them to suppress their creativity and imagination and look to become a clock punching employee instead of a person with the freedom to make their own choices in life. 

And how about the men and women that choose to bear children in the worst conditions possible (single parent, low income, etc) where there chances of success in life amount to the odds of winning a lottery?  Well, that's for another day.  While perception would lead you to believe that a parent is vital for a child's success, the reality is that, more often than not, a parent can be its child's greatest enemy without even realizing it.