There is so much to do. Your kids have to get dressed. They have to eat. They have go to school. They have to do well in school. They’ll need jobs. They’ll need to figure out how to find a home, find a spouse, navigate the difficulties of the modern world.
There is so much to do . . . and they are so bad at all of it. So how does a parent get involved without crossing the line? How do we know where to help, what to handle for them, what to tell them they don’t have to worry about? Of course, there are no rules. No one can give you a perfect list: Pay for their college, but not their car. Cook them food, but don’t do their homework for them. Clean the kitchen, but not their room.
So maybe instead we should look for a good principle to follow instead. Perhaps we can adapt Plutarch’s line about leadership: A parent should do anything, but not everything.
A great leader is never above rolling up their sleeves. Like a great parent, they’ll do anything for their family or their organization. But they also know they can’t do everything. It’s not good for them or for anyone else.