One of my favorite movies is "Born Free". The music is classic and haunting.
A young motherless female lion cub (named Elsa) is rescued from the wilds of Africa by a childless couple. As the lion grows up, she is very docile and loved by all.
But little lions become big lions. It becomes obvious that Elsa's natural pedigree requires her to live with "her own" in the wild. There is a great deal of pain by her adopted family in dealing with the return of Elsa to the wild. The effort begins. Elsa is placed into settings natural to a female lion to see if she can break away from domestication. She keeps coming home. It turns out to be a very painful process but eventually Elsa learns to exist on her own.
The parallel to life is uncanny. Children grow up as part of a close family. There is an unwritten law that once kids graduate (or try to graduate) from high school, they will have to move out of the house and begin to support themselves. The reality is similar to Elsa the lion who had no clue about how to survive. Some kids make the transition with relative ease and some kids would be content to live at home forever.
Like Elsa, the transition to independence needs to be made. It is a natural part of life's process. Each person should be allowed to grow and evolve on their own terms. Why would you deny a child the opportunity to become President or a neurosurgeon?
The lesson Grasshoppers is that life is meant to be lived. Children should be nutured to develop as many skills as possible but the evolution to becoming independent needs to be made. Forcing your kids to learn meaningful skills should be a priority.
There is one poignant scene in "Born Free" where Elsa wanders into the camp of the couple who raised her after she has been on her own for several years. There is a stark realization that Elsa remembers and loves her previous home and she brings her two lion cubs with her. But Elsa also meanders out of camp to pursue her new life. Everyone (and Elsa) understands that what has happened is "right".
And then the music theme of Born Free begins in and everyone cries.
Love,
Dad