"I believe that a parent's role is to provide a path or opportunity for their children"
About this Quote
Parenthood, in David Souls framing, is less about steering and more about clearing the way. A path is not a destination, and opportunity is not compulsion. The emphasis falls on building conditions in which a child can explore, fail safely, and choose. It is a humble vision of authority: the parent as steward of openings rather than author of outcomes.
Souls own life gives the line extra resonance. Born David Solberg, the son of a Lutheran minister and educator, he grew up amid moves and cross-cultural encounters that widened his horizons. He began as a folk singer, once performing as the Covered Man to focus attention on the music rather than the face, then reinvented himself as a television star in Starsky & Hutch and as a chart-topping singer. Reinvention depends on doors being ajar and on someone showing the hallway. Soul seems to credit parenting with that kind of scaffolding: provide exposure, tools, and encouragement, then step back so the child can walk.
The distinction matters in a culture that often confuses care with control. Laying down a track can produce compliance, but it risks stunting curiosity and resilience. Providing a path means modeling values, teaching skills, and creating access to people and experiences, while accepting that the child will take turns you might not predict. Opportunity is both material and emotional: networks and resources, yes, but also the permission to try, to err, to begin again.
There is a social dimension as well. Not every family can purchase opportunity, but every parent can advocate, listen, and frame setbacks as information rather than verdicts. Even small openings accumulate: a library card, a mentor, a patient conversation after failure. Souls formulation carries a quiet optimism. You cannot guarantee where your child will go. You can clear brush, point out landmarks, and keep the gate unlocked. The journey, and the joy of claiming it, belongs to them.
Souls own life gives the line extra resonance. Born David Solberg, the son of a Lutheran minister and educator, he grew up amid moves and cross-cultural encounters that widened his horizons. He began as a folk singer, once performing as the Covered Man to focus attention on the music rather than the face, then reinvented himself as a television star in Starsky & Hutch and as a chart-topping singer. Reinvention depends on doors being ajar and on someone showing the hallway. Soul seems to credit parenting with that kind of scaffolding: provide exposure, tools, and encouragement, then step back so the child can walk.
The distinction matters in a culture that often confuses care with control. Laying down a track can produce compliance, but it risks stunting curiosity and resilience. Providing a path means modeling values, teaching skills, and creating access to people and experiences, while accepting that the child will take turns you might not predict. Opportunity is both material and emotional: networks and resources, yes, but also the permission to try, to err, to begin again.
There is a social dimension as well. Not every family can purchase opportunity, but every parent can advocate, listen, and frame setbacks as information rather than verdicts. Even small openings accumulate: a library card, a mentor, a patient conversation after failure. Souls formulation carries a quiet optimism. You cannot guarantee where your child will go. You can clear brush, point out landmarks, and keep the gate unlocked. The journey, and the joy of claiming it, belongs to them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Parenting |
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