Sitting back

One of the hardest things about being a parent is sitting back and letting your child do something for herself. It can be something so simple - like not helping them color a picture and waiting what seems like hours for them to finish. It can be something painful - like letting them fall while riding a bike, rollerblading, riding a scooter, whatever. Our job as parents is to raise a person - to teach them how to cope with life so that one day they will leave us and do the same thing for their children. There are so many times when I just want to tie the shoe so we can leave the house instead of waiting while she tries over and over and over again. You know what it's like to hear your toddler yell "Me do it!" It's the same as when you were a teen telling your parents "I have to make my own mistakes." Children will make mistakes. They will fall down. But, that's the only way they will learn.