"Your" Children

 They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of to-morrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you. ~ Kahlil Gibran. The Prophet

Our children are not ours.
We cannot craft them.
We cannot guide them.
We cannot direct their development
nor kraft their abilities.
You may strive to be like them,
but should not and cannot
make them like you
or like you want them to be.

Kahlil Gibran