Kathy, I love your post about empowering you kids. My kids are young but I believe in what you say. I think that with my oldest I made the mistake of doing everything for him out of love. I helped him because I felt like that was my job but now he's a little older although still young, he wants me to do everything for him and has a fit if I ask him to do anything for himself. My second boy had to learn to do more things for himself because he didn't have my complete and undivided attention so he is much more independant.