"The first thing we need to understand is children only come through you, they don't come from you, they come through you."
Don't try to force a child to be someone they don't want to be, keep them safe, gently nudge them in the proper directions when you can, and respect them for the miracle that they are.
Children who only have friends and no "boss" who acutally sets strict borders and guides them (also by teaching them to fulfill obligations)develop inflated self-conciousness and lack severely in self-discipline instead. According to psychological research, that is the perfect setup for failure in life.