<p>It is amazing what our pre-conceived notions are of a good career for an unborn child.</p>
<p>Plumbers are great (they earn big bucks and are necessary for a flushing toilet) while truck drivers are not so great (fill in your favorite redneck joke here). I’d rather have someone who can manuver a large vehicle in tight spaces driving a truck than fixing the leak under my kitchen sink. </p>
<p>If a kid has a talent for something valuable to society and genuinely enjoys contributing in that manner (rather than it just being a paycheck), I’m happy to support him/her in doing it. While we’d all rather have our kids grow up to be doctors and lawyers (well, maybe not lawyers), please realize that we’ve been socialized to put those professions on a pedastol. I groan every time I see kids on this site thinking about med school because of the paycheck they can collect as X specialist (trashing the idea that a family practioner is a worthwhile endeavor because you can’t afford a BMW while paying off your 6-figure loans treating sore throats).</p>
<p>What I am saying here is encourage your child to appreciate the contributions of all members of society and be supportive of how s/he wishes to contribute to the world when s/he grows up.</p>