No, it's bullshit. They should instead get to know their kids and recognize where their talents and set of skills lie and hone in on them and encourage them based on those.

My parents always let me know I would never accomplish anything. They were right.

Young children should have dreams. They will learn soon enough that life is less than perfect.

Yes. You shouldn’t close doors too early. They need to dream. Let their imagination grow. Learn the sensation of having faith in themselves. The joy of possibility. Young ones don’t do gray area well, so you either let them fly or chain them down. They’ll figure out soon enough that they can’t be a unicorn, but they’ll smile when they remember that they wanted to.

My daughter wanted to be a cat for the longest time. Obviously she can't be that. She can "do" a great many things, though. I need her to know she can do hard things. The idea of this saying is to teach kids perseverance toward lifetime goals.

Wait, what? You're saying that parents are supposed to be responsible? Why didn't you tell me before my youngest turned 26 this year?

50/50. My parents squelched any idea I had for myself. When they are young I say let their imagination soar. When they get older give them context.

It's fine as an aspiration but I can't help feeling it's setting kids up for disappointment and delusion when they hit The Real World

It depends on the society. If women or minorities are oppressed or there's a caste system then it could be irresponsible to kindle false hope.

Yes and no.

It Depends

Yes

Hard to say. Should you try to be your child's tireless cheerleader and source of support in a less than kind world ? Or is a focus on 'tough love' more 'responsible' to prepare them to cope when they don't always get what they want ? I've heard arguments for both schools of thought. 🤔

Sure. I don't think the fact that you might not become what you want to be is reason enough to not dream