Let your Child Fall

A woman approached me last week at the close of a workshop I had just presented on stress to share that her biggest stressor came from her relationship with her adult daughter. Her daughter now blamed the mother for coddling her while she was growing up to the point of disabling her. This woman did what she believed was best for her child and did it out of love. But, as her daughter now tried to explain, she felt inept at handling the challenges that life was throwing at her. If our children are not allowed to make their share of mistakes, how will they ever learn from them? We are physiologically constructed to operate this way. So let your child fall down, literally or figuratively and then applaud and encourage them as they figure out how to get back up. That essential learning & growing process will see them through whatever life dishes out.