Information versus assumption

I feel like I should have more to add, but really I just want to send you to what Rafe has to say against offering advice. Most of the time, people who offer unsolicited advice merely reveal their disinterest in knowing more about my own motivations, criteria, thought process; they have the Right Answer in advance. I don't know why I would be interested in guidance given so blindly.

I think my mother sometimes finds it frustrating that I won't just tell her what to do in the case of various decisions large and small, but I honestly don't presume to know how she would weight or value the pros and cons, especially given that her world view can differ from mine in unexpected ways -- thus I prefer to offer her an assessment of the situation, some information on the likely results of different choices, perhaps my estimation of what stresses or pleases her most, and then leave the decision to her. Will I someday find it impossible to do likewise for my daughter, given many years of making choices about and for her? I hope not -- she's already a distinct personality and likely to have her own way of approaching the world from early days. But perhaps it's a trap of parenthood that we always see our judgment as Better, our wisdom as Deeper. Something to guard against, I think.