Our childhood years are a time to dream: "When I grow up, I want to be a ... ". But sadly, our children are being made to grow up too quickly. Increasingly, careers advisers and employers want to put their mark on those impressionable souls.
A new report, Informed Choice? Armed Forces and Recruitment Practice in the UK, claims the MoD is spreading its net to target children as young as eight in a push to attract more people to a career in the armed forces.
The report's authors claim that while children are being told of the potential benefits of a career in the forces, the recruitment material glosses over the difficult shift from civilian to military life, the ethical aspects of killing, risks to physical and mental health, the legal obligations of enlisting, and the right of conscientious objection.
I have a 12-year-old son who occasionally dreams about being a policeman or a soldier when he's older. The idea doesn't thrill me - even the suggestion of him joining his school's combined cadet force is enough to chill my blood - but I'd like to think that whatever career he eventually chooses, I'll give him my support.
But is 12 the age to be pressing children to make such a decision? I'm not sure that even at 18 you are old enough to understand fully the ramifications of making such a critical choice. I've met enough late 20-somethings in career crises to realise that the longer you can hold off plotting a career course, the better.
Shouldn't the army, and any other employers for that matter, stay out of the classroom and leave children to their dreams?
Tell us what you think, and cast your vote in our poll. The results will appear in Saturday's Work supplement.
