I was reading this post when HelloKitty came up behind me and asked, "Would you rescue me from an alligator?" I told her that if she was ever in danger of being eaten by an alligator, I would most assuredly rescue her. This is a promise that is much easier to make when you live in Tennessee and the danger of alligators is very slim.

Stu Mark makes a good point in his post though. Start rescuing your kids now and you’ll still be doing it when they are way too old to be rescued. I’ve been rescuing my brother all his life. I rescued him from the other little kids who wanted to pick on him, then when he got older I’d rescue him when he ran out of gas. Now that he’s nearly 30, I’ve graduated to way more grand scale rescues.

It’s not just me that’s coming to his aid all the time, either, my parents do too. My parents are very good parents, but they probably should have let us both flail out in the wind more often. I’m sure this is much easier said than done, though. You love your kid, you don’t want them to hurt.

But if you’re letting them have smaller hurts now in the name of independence and self-sufficiency now, you are probably saving them myriad big hurts later. Let them fail their math homework now so hopefully later they’ll be responsible enough to always pay their rent.

It’s hard, though. I’m with the theory, but step in far too often anyway. How are you doing with this? Are you a constant rescuer?