I've always thought this was the ideal form of parenting. Relax expectations on the children, let them find their own path. I've recently changed my mind and

I've always thought this was the ideal form of parenting. Relax expectations on the children, let them find their own path. I've recently changed my mind and I think offloading the discovery of purpose onto children creates more pressure on them than a moderate pressure to conform to society's existing expectations. What's worse than being unhappy and being told you have no reason to be unhappy? If they discover on their own that they don't care about society's rules and living off in the woods and growing their own food is the key to happiness, so be it. But to assume everyone will be able to develop that path to happiness is optimizing for the edge case. Most people need guard rails for life and to live within a social construct that defines success and failure for them.