Joey came home last night with a bruise on top of his forehead. My son is a medium-built boy and clearly, he stands a chance against the bigger bullies. I talked to him about what happened and he didn’t cry; he told me that somebody messed with his notebook, he knew the culprit and he fought with the classmate until the teacher broke them up.

Bullying and the difficulties of elementary up to high school education may seem dangerous for your child, but these are the events in their lives where they form their own philosophies and how they become independent and stand on their own. A loving parent is a good parent, but too much love can restrict the child from experiencing things on their own.

Your child can only become independent if you don’t intervene in things that they need to learn on their own. A famous Christian saying states that giving a man a fish helps him live another day, while teaching him how to fish feeds him for a lifetime. To teach your children how to fish, give them the fishing rod and let them cast it where they want.

However, be vigilant and allow them to talk to you when they want to. Children know when they’ve done something wrong because their parents scold them for it. But if you are willing to hear them as a friend, they can confide to you everything they do on a daily basis. If they ask you about the things they’ve done is right or wrong, just talk from experience, but never push your own ideals into them. Independence is giving your child free will to believe anything, as long as they do not harm other people.