Hello Dr. Phil,
I just finished watching your show on overprotective Moms. I was so sad to see what it was doing to their relationships. I also tended to be fearful when our daughter was growing up. So I sympathize with these Moms. However, I finally realized that in order for our daughter to become a confident, self-assured adult, I learned to let her go, starting out with baby steps...which is how we teach them to do everything. We don't put our baby down and say "walk" and expect them to get up and do it. We teach them to ride a bike by letting them ride a tricycle first. The same is true about teaching them about how become happy, self-assured, confident adults who also learn how to cope when things go different from what we want or think it should. If you can, please tell Moms to start young with allowing their children how to make WISE decisions. When our daughter was a senior in high school, she asked the questions, "Mama, what are you going to do when I go to college?" I replied, "I will cry for a few minutes, and so will you, but then we will both get on with our lives and adjust to the new chapter that is beginning. It was hard for her the first month of college, but I assured her that everyday she would get more used to being away from home and from us (we are a very close family). She is now in her last year of grad school in NY and amazes me everyday with how confident and assured she is (she was EXTREMELY SHY) when she was small. God has always watched out for her because we trust Him to do that. Hopefully, these mothers that were on your show today will help their children grow up with confidence. By the way, our daughter has called us everyday for the last 6 years, not because we require it, but because she wants to tell us about her day. Sometimes the call may be a minute or two, other times, when she has had a breakup with a boyfriend, or something else, she may have called 4 times. She knows that she determines that....not us. Have a wonderful day and keep telling people the truth.
