I’ve learned that there are pros and cons to inserting myself in the details of our children’s lives.  “Helicopter parents” hover over their children and protect them from developing their independence and decision-making skills.  I understand the desire to watch over our children closely, I just do not know if this is the best approach for their long term development. As Khalil Gibran writes in The Prophet, “your children are not your children.”  I believe us parents owe it to our children to give them independence and freedom.  They need to learn how to fly on their own.   But I just had a moment in which I abandoned the hands off approach and fired up the helicopter  myself. (more…)