THIS is apropos of Umair Tanveer’s letter ‘Career counseling’ (April 15).

I agree with the views expressed by the writer. Being affiliated with a teaching institute myself, I come across students who do require counselling at every level for their career choices. We have career counsellors in our organisation who make sure that the students are guided in the best possible ways.

However, it is just not the sole responsibility of the career counsellors, students coming to graduate institutes are expected to at least have a certain roadmap ahead of them. Parents/guardians/mentors are required to help them in coming up with a career plan ahead of their professional years.

Unfortunately, with the decline of the joint family system that was the backbone in child development, the nuclear family setups have somewhat created a major breach in the moral, personal and professional development of the children.

Parents seem too busy in earning a decent livelihood, adjusting to ever-increasing financial demands, do not get to spend quality time with the children, thus creating a communication gap which leaves parents exhausted and kids confused.

Being a psychiatrist, I deal with the above-mentioned family dynamics on a regular basis. We need to be more aware as parents and start taking responsibility for our active participation in every sphere of our children’s lives.

DR SOBIA HAQQI Karachi