[CapricornNoble]

Isn't the whole point of parenting to leverage our significantly larger base of life experience to steer our children away from potentially harmful (or at least sub-optimal) decisions somewhat induced by their own inexperience?

[jalgos_eminator]

No, that would be helicopter parenting. A parents job is to teach the child how the world works and how to deal with its shortcomings using that bank of experience. Not to make decisions for them or shield them from risk at the expense of their adult life.

You can't "patch the bugs" in the life you lived by telling your child how to live, you just have to try to teach them so that they fully understand the situation and will make the "right" decision when the time comes. Sometimes they will have the information but still make the "wrong" decision, which is frustrating I imagine (no kids, but I've seen people do this). This is normal though because there are some things you can't explain to someone, they just need to experience it. How to love and be loved is the big one, but there are a lot of other smaller ones.