<p>I’m not sure where the Eddie Haskell came from. 
</p>
<p>Opie, why say that? While there are plenty of stress-related afflictions, it’s usually never to late to take actions which will extend the quality of life and quantity of years.</p>
<p>Having said that, I admit that I (and I’m sure most of us) send mixed messages to our kids. I tell my sons, “Hey, do it while you can. Be a river guide, take a year off and climb mountains, go surfing, try oil-painting, take up an instrument just for the hell of it, join a garage band, while you’re young and can do it all!” But in the other breath, all we (parents) talk about is what the kids are studying, what they’re going to “become”, whether they have a sweet internship next summer/year. Reading this thread (and rolling Opie’s comments around in my brain), I realize that all that is really a bunch of crap that for the most part makes us (again, parents) feel good but may not be the most fulfilling lives for our children.</p>
<p>If ego and 18 years of childrearing were totally removed from the equation…</p>
<p>Other than encouraging a young person to strive for his or her passions, would we really still advise them in the same way? Go to the BEST school, STUDY hard, get summer internships, work part time in labs, blah blah blah. Maybe I’m just going through a particularly hard monthly wigout cycle, but doesn’t it seem odd that we want our kids to do stuff that either we 1) realize was not very pleasant, if we did it, or 2) we didn’t do ourselves?</p>
<p>I talked to a mom the other day whose son is 25 years old and just now finishing up his EE. My H finished his degree when he was 26. What is the big hurry?</p>