The point the author is trying to make IMO is that the parents dismiss the relationships as shallow and contextual, while the children themselves, the ones actu

The point the author is trying to make IMO is that the parents dismiss the relationships as shallow and contextual, while the children themselves, the ones actually in the relationship, have no choice whatsoever. Of course relationships will come and go in everyone's life, but in an adult relationship at least there is some choice made by one of the two parties invested in the relationship. I met my dearest and oldest friend in the fourth grade. If my parents had made a life decision that would have cost me that relationship it would have been a huge, huge (really unimaginable at this point) loss for me.