Growing up, I keep remembering memories of when I was a kid, the happy moments, sad moments, pain, and most importantly, the mistakes I made when I was wrong, some of which I regret deeply to this day, and some of which I ignore as unimportant in my thoughts.
I believe that when making sensitive decisions, it can't be made only by the kid but also by the parent too, and advice from potential successful friends. This is why I say there is a difference between kids making decisions and being passionate about something they want to achieve. I have seen parent leave their kids to make decisions which they later regret to this day, not willingly, but they left it all for their kids to decide, and I have also seen parents make decisions for their kids, and it ended tragically.
If I had a kid I will study his passion, I once had a friend before I entered university, this friend wanted to become a doctor but we did exams the same moment, his grade couldn't meet up, parents and friends adviced him to choose a more related course or nursing but he was definite about what he really wanted, very passionate, to cut the long story short he did the exams for 4 years and later entered University after, now he is also done remaining 2years, and the last time we spoke he was the best medical student in school. I told him I wanted to switch from physiotherapy to Cybersecurity because I find tech more interesting, this is when I discovered my Interest. To some of us, we need time to discover what we really want, while others already know.
The only time I feel a child should not be left to make decisions is when the parent notices the child is not wise enough to see greater tunnels at the end, then they can leave him alone to make decisions for himself. I needed decision makers for me, either from my parent, friends, or seniors, because/ back then, I was really limited in knowledge and didn't understand my passion, so if I were left to make decisions for myself, I would really be lost by now. My point of sharing this thought is that a child needs to be wise enough before they can be left alone or live a private lifestyle.
A child does not need privacy except they get to a certain age where they can think and make decisions for themselves. I think of everybody and everything that did not leave me alone, if not, I would have made so many mistakes worse than the present one I regret. Presently I see everything as part of life and an experience we need to encounter so our kids don't regret it. Not all kids should be left to privacy, some need to be carefully considered and checked on until they get to a certain age where they're smart enough to make decisions for themselves.
This is my entry to Hivelearneds' weekly prompt, week 185 episode 2.