Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Confession: I do too much for my kids.

You might think this is a good thing, but I'm learning that it isn't always the best thing.

I've battled the morning prep-for-school thing with the kids for years. I've prodded them, supplied their clothes, made their breakfast, and practically followed them out the door with a stop watch: You have 30 seconds until the bus comes! And for years, they've dragged and dawdled and sometimes miss the bus. If not, they're often running frantically to catch it. And they get mad at me for "hounding" them.

Eye opener#1: Starting this year, daughter (age 11) has to catch the bus at 7:00 a.m., which means she gets up before the birds do. She asked me to leave her alone and let her get herself going. I have. She does. It's freaking amazing!

Eye opener#2: Boy (age 9) and I went rounds over this topic recently, and he also asked me to basically back off. "Fine," I say, willing to try anything different. Last night he laid out the clothes he'd wear today, put the bowl and spoon and box of cereal at the table in preperation for the morning, put his backpack by the backdoor, and wrote notes in every room he occupies telling himself to stay focused and do whichever duty was for that room. He got up this a.m., took a shower, got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and was ready to go on time. Freaking amazing again!

Lesson: If you allow the kids to own the responsibility, they'll live up to it. It's so hard for me to step back and cut the cord, so to speak. They're my babies, you know? But I see now that it's for the best and probably long overdue.

Have you learned any life lessions lately?