> When I was young, the first profession I said I wanted to be was a Vet. I was obsessed with it. I loved all animals, but dogs the most.
Same with my 10 year old. We had a nice "what do you want to be when you grow up" conversation in the car the other day and of course she decided she'd be a veterinarian because she loves animals. I don't want to be Mr. Negative Dad or discourage anything, but we had a "let's think about that for a minute" talk and she figured out the unpleasant side of the idea pretty quickly.
I have four young girls who all talk about wanting to be veterinarians when they grow up. They're young enough that I don't put much stock in that yet. I already had some sense that being a veterinarian has a lot of downsides, but reading this thread is really making me hope that they change their own minds in a few years. Like you said, I don't want to be the one to discourage them.
Same with my 10 year old. We had a nice "what do you want to be when you grow up" conversation in the car the other day and of course she decided she'd be a veterinarian because she loves animals. I don't want to be Mr. Negative Dad or discourage anything, but we had a "let's think about that for a minute" talk and she figured out the unpleasant side of the idea pretty quickly.