“A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)

This is a tough one for a lot of you mothers out there. You’ve been told that your job is to protect your children from the menacing world of predators and PG13 movies. Protection is certainly a part of parenting, but it should by no means be the goal of parenting.

Children come into the world as fragile beings. They’re soft, naked, and completely dependent upon you. But they grow. They soon become capable of learning at an extraordinary pace.

It is imperative to teach children what they really need to learn. They must be able to make choices and decisions. This won’t happen if they’re overly-sheltered. If you want children to become strong, independent adults, grown ups who do not need you but want you in their lives, you must begin stretching and molding them now. Chances are, your kids will rise to the challenge.