What should a father do?

Recently I came across a dialog in a movie when a son asks his father
‘I know you have been doing every thing for me that is good for me or would be good.But have you ever thought whether I like doing it?You want your son to be your son and not me”
Seemed sensible.We, as fathers, do everything for our children and forbid them from doing certain things, for, from our experience we know what he /she is doing might hurt him/her;we do not want our children to suffer.
At the same time should we not allow them to be what they want to be? This, my experience shows, normally lands them in a soup.
I am of the view that we might administer a mixture of both.I have two married sons , a married daughter and have two grand children.My relationship with them is that of a close friend than a father.
Story:
The government’s recent green paper on families proposes furnishing all prospective fathers with “instruction manuals”. While we wait for this innovation G2 is pleased to present its very own Good Dad Guide:

▶ A baby can learn to recognise its father’s voice while still in the womb, so make sure you talk a lot during the pregnancy, otherwise the child could be born thinking that its father is Billy Mitchell from EastEnders.

▶ In today’s modern maternity ward it is normal for fathers to be involved in virtually every stage of labour. If, however, someone asks you to administer an epidural or prep for surgery, it’s because they have mistaken you for a doctor who looks like you. Don’t try to blag your way through it.

▶ You should know that breastfeeding is very important, but not as important as you learning how to work the washing machine. If you’re wondering whether “washing machine” refers to the one that does clothes or the one that does the dishes . . . well, that’s as good a place to start as any.

▶ As a father it’s only fair that you should do half of all the nappy-changing. Ideally you want the first half. It’s a business that gets only uglier as time wears on.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/19/how-to-be-a-good-dad