The truth is a tricky thing, especially when we are talking about individual truths about identity. Everyone identifies as something whether it be a religion, an occupation, sexuality, or a gender. This is subjective to each person and should stay that way, because we have no right to dictate the inner machinations of another person's life. No matter your religion or political disposition, you have absolutely no say in someone else's personal identification, even if they are your own children. Everyone has their own individual truth.
Being a parent is an immensely important job. You hold the responsibility of raising a human being (keywords: human being) from birth, all the way up until they are ready to leave the nest and become an adult. You are responsible for imparting wisdom and values on your child. However, you are never responsible for making decisions about their identity for them. We can absolutely teach our children to stay on the right path, but staying on the right path doesn't mean believing in exactly what their parents believe in. The right path for our children should be whatever allows them to live their happiest and healthiest lives.
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Additionally, a child is not sub-human simply because they are young. Children are human beings who deserve the same respect, rights, and liberties that we do as adults. They are not under their parents care to become a carbon copy of their parents. This being said, you also cannot force your children to accept anything, even a religion. Forcing opinions and beliefs down your child's throat will only create a hostile environment where they feel that they are alone and unable to disclose important, personal information with their parents.
We are not here to be a dictator in our childrens' lives. We are here to support them through their coming of age and identity. We are here to help them be themselves. Though, I guess you may see things differently since you explicitly stated that "We have grown too comfortable with letting our children be whoever or whatever they want to be". To me, and many others, this seems like something that we shouldn't have to be comfortable with in the first place. Individuality should be the norm. Individuality is not a "physiological illness", nor is it something that should be suppressed by anyone, especially one's own parent.
We shouldn't let our children be themselves. We should encourage it.
