Are You In Danger of Raising a Wimp?

You might be one of those parents.

And when I say "you", I mean "you".

Do you have:

--an image of your child silk-screened onto a tote bag?
--a Nannycam?
--a consultant who child-proofs your home?
--a role as executive manager of your child's life?
--a shopping cart liner?
--a life plan mapped out for your three-year-old?
--the idea that free play is a waste of time that detracts from achievement?
--a belief there are far too many sex perverts out there to let your kids play outdoors?
--dinner regularly with the kids, in a car, en route to different activities?
--to complete your child's homework or paper on one or more occasions?
--a need to contact the teacher or administrator to protest a grade your child received?
--a need to call the school demanding that your child be given a part, or a better part, in a play?
--a fear of leaving your child, who is more than three months old, with anyone including your own parents?
--a psychologist hired to test your child in the hopes of finding a problem?
--the intense need to finish something your child is struggling with?
--to pay your kid every time he or his team wins a game or every time he gets a good grade?
--to make a trip to school just to bring a paper or homework your child left at home?
--to get your kid into Harvard, Princeton, Yale or some other Ivy or you'll feel like a failure?
--GPS on your kid's cellphone?
--to tell your kid he/she is brilliant all the time?
--to tell your child that second best is not good enough?
--the sneaking suspicion that you might be doing too much for your child—after all, no one did so much for you and you turned out OK—but you fear that without your vigilance your child will be "left behind"?

Just to prove I'm not above self-introspection, let's take a look again at the above list. Okay...I'm not afraid of sex perverts as much as I am afraid of bears. And I can't executive manage my own life, let alone my two children's lives - which are really just 24-hours of sports talk.

Seriously. I'd die of boredom.

And I think Harvard or Yale would be pretty terrific, but let's say they get into University of Florida instead. I wouldn't be the failure. They would.

There.

As far as the rest of the list goes, clearly my parenting skills aren't as hard core. But if you recognize yourself in any of the above bullet points, you might need some help.

So here's a book.

You're welcome.