As parents, one of our jobs is to instill confidence into our children such that they feel both desirous and prepared to take on whatever challenges come their way. Sure, they'll feel the agony of defeat every now and again but by and large we want our kids to take things on without (too much) hesitation...  My two girls have two distinct approaches to taking things on. The 4.5 year-old is a beautiful, highly-animated worry wart. She takes things on only with a parental hand nearby and even then she needs more than a little encouragement. Her 2.5 year-old sister is the opposite; she needs that parental hand only to stop her from diving head-first into, well, everything.  Our parenting style is dynamic, we think. We work to positively accommodate each child's respective approach to life. What I personally find most difficult is when each child's respective approach changes.  Recently, my 4.5 year-old has tacitly decided to become more independent. She'll now unbuckle her seatbelt and brush her teeth and flush the toilet - things that I used to do. When I forget (as I'm prone to do) it's time for tears; first hers, then mine. And when the younger one flip-flops (and actually asks for help) I find myself reluctant as I don't want to slow down her rapid development. More tears...  Changing parenting style in what is ideally "real-time" can be hard for parents - at least this one. I enjoy being helpful and/or getting good at certain things; once that help and/or those skills are no longer necessary (or become counter-productive) I find myself feeling frustrated and out-dated.  The key to carrying on with even a modicum of grace is to expect that whatever worked yesterday might not work today and will most definitely not work tomorrow. It's challenging to adapt to this fast-track of changes but I suppose that's what development is all about. It's a two-way street out there and as a parent, we're responsible for both lanes of traffic.