I had my first child 16 months ago. He is bright, and loving, and (in my opinion) perfect. I have no intention of harnessing him. A parent's job is to GUIDE, not force. You can't put blinders on your kid, but you can talk to him, explain everything, leave yourself open to questions. I may be an amateur at this mother thing, but parenthood is the last bastion of the utter amateur. You just do the best you can (with a lot of love).