I don't have that assumption; plenty of people share the values of their surrounding culture. My point is that parents have a direct and specific interest in ca

I don't have that assumption; plenty of people share the values of their surrounding culture. My point is that parents have a direct and specific interest in caring about their specific kids, but the strong powerful influencers out there (advertisers, media, propagandists, politicians) do not. Children are more likely to be perceived as an end in themselves to their own parents, and as simply a means to an end by these other entities. Also: everyone talking about raising their kids with the ideals of critical thinking and of picking their own values: that's still a value that's apparently important enough for you to instill in your child that you went to great lengths to instill it. Something tells me you wouldn't be happy with them embracing an opposing value, like, say, blind adherence to authority figures, and believing everything they read, and letting other people browbeat them and tell them what to do with their lives.