Word of the day - Manipulation

The first chapter of Ender's Game begins with a conversation between two adults. They discuss that the boy is the one they need to save the world from the buggers and how they will have to manipulate his life to accomplish this. The manipulation theme continues in following chapters, as the adults plot and maneuver Ender's world to control the outcome.

This makes me think about how well-meaning adults manipulate the world of children to create a positive end result. So... is manipulation always a bad thing? Let the games begin!