As parents we all want to protect our children from struggling, feeling sad, or failure. While there are times we need to intervene, most of the time, our need to rescue, fix, and help may not be as beneficial as we hope. Think about it. We learn more during times of struggle than we do when things go easily. Instead of jumping in to fix a problem offer encouragement, support, and validation of feelings. Help your child problem solve. This will allow your child to build a sense of mastery, competence, and to learn to cope with challenges. Often times if a child is asking you for help with something that you know that they can do themselves, they may need your attention more than your help. Try sitting next to them and ask them to show you how they do it. Most of the time, they complete the task with no issues.