W: As a kid, did you know what job you wanted to do when you grew up?
M: No, I didn’t. And I got sick every time adults asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.
W: It’s the same with me. And I’m tired of people asking that question of my 10-year-old daughter. My daughter’s stock answers are basketball player, pop singer, mechanical engineer. Adults love that last one, as it’s the perfect mix of the sensible and the ambitious. When she was much younger, my daughter used to say she wanted to be Queen of the Clouds, which I loved. That’s the kind of goal-setting I like to see in children, springing from their boundless imaginations.
M: Yes, we grown-ups can be tedious and limiting in our need for reality. And we teach a very gloomy image of adulthood—that whatever our children’s future holds, it must be seen within the context of a job.
W: How utterly overwhelming and dull!
M: When people ask my son what he wants to be when he grows up, I have to swallow the urge to say, “Hey, back off my kid’s dreams!”
W: We can’t dismiss the idea that teenagers have to plan to do something after they finish school, and parents are entitled to hope it’s more than simply spending 10 hours a day playing computer games.
M: But asking “What do you want to be?” isn’t going to lead a child to a fulfilled life rather lead to false expectations and a high chance of disappointment.
W: Exactly. We should be helping our kids understand who they are, even if that means letting go of who we think they should be.

Q12: What question were both speakers fed up with when they were kids?
Q13: What occupation do adults see as both sensible and ambitious according to the woman?
Q14: What kind of goal-setting does the woman like to see in children?
Q15: What does the woman suggest adults should do?