Are You Guilty Of "Helicopter Parenting"? (These Aggressive Moms And Dads Ruined Easter For Their Kids!)

When Emmett is anywhere but in our living room, there's a pretty good chance I'll be hovering over him.

I want to make sure he's sharing and playing nicely. And I want to make sure he's safe and happy. I feel better knowing that I'm close enough to help him if he gets frustrated or catch him if he stumbles. (Or, let's face it, grab him if he goes to bite the kid who grabs his sippy cup.) From where I'm standing—three feet to the side of my toddler, eyes always downcast—helicopter parenting (that constant state of hovering) feels righteous. I mean, it's not just me. Just look at all the other kids at the playground who are dragging around watchful a parent—sometimes two—by an invisible three-foot cord. No one wants to see their children fail.

But eventually it becomes too freaking much: An annual Easter Egg hunt in Colorado Springs was called off this year after last year's hunt, which saw parents (who weren't supposed to be "hunting") jumping into a roped off area and scooping up all the eggs (before the kids themselves could get to them) to make sure their own children wouldn't go home egg-less.

Is it better to let Emmett get frustrated or bruised—or (gulp) bite someone and suffer the consequences? Is it okay to let your kids "lose" at an Easter egg hunt? If frustration is good in small doses, how do you dish out juuuuust the right amount?

I want my toddler to challenge himself—but I don't want him to hurt himself (or someone else!) in the process.

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