"Mixed up View"

It seems in our day and time, we spend a lot of time rescuing our children, making excuses for them and making sure there are no mistakes in their life. But in reality, I think our focus should be, "Prepare your child for the path", rather than "Prepare the path for your child". The path can be rocky and bumpy and isn't it better to be sure your child has the tools in his/her arsenal to be ready for the path, rather than protecting them from mistakes? If we prepare our child for the path, then we are equipping them to handle the future, do things for themselves, and teaching them independence. But if we try to control the path, we are robbing them of self-help skills they need to become responsible adults one day. They need to fall down to know how to get back up, brush themselves off and move on. The benefit of having independent children is actually refreshing and freeing.