All of us face obstacles from the moment we are born.  We had a nice, dark, warm place to be, and then suddenly we were thrust into a cold, bright room where we were forced to breath in a way we never had before.  We cried because we just wanted our comfort back, and the minute we got warm, we closed our eyes and dreamt we were in that comfort again. 

    And so it goes in life… all the way to the end.  There is no day during this life we’re giving that obstacles don’t come.  Sure, we group them into “no sweat” obstacles and “I’ll deal with later” obstacles and the such, but they are obstacles none the less. 

   As parents, it is our job to equip our children with ways to avoid, get around, or travel through these obstacles.  It seems only fitting that we, as parents, should do a check to make sure that we ourselves are not the obstacle. There are several areas in which a parent can become the obstacle to a child’s healthy development. Obviously, child abuse, neglect, and molestation would be obstacles that many of us would never perpetrate. But what about the little things we do that do not allow our child to grow into an equipped adult? You know, the things that seem innocuous? Things like allowing our kids to sleep in our beds or rooms well into the upper elementary grades? .Or leaving work to fetch items that our children forgot to take to school… repeatedly? Do we allow our kids to fight their own battles, or do we rush to their aid before even asked? Do you just go ahead and do the task because teaching or getting your child to do the task is way harder? Does your daughter get all of the opportunities your son does?

                How did you do?  If you are able to let your child become independent from you, I guarantee that he will be able to overcome other obstacles in his path.  Just like a chicken whose egg was broken for him will never walk, the kid whose parent does not let the child learn to solve for himself cripples him.  I know it’s tough.  I guarantee you, though, that the problem-solving, risk-taking adults that they become will make you ever-so-proud!

-          Michelle