You get the perfectly balanced, healthy dinner on the table only 10 minutes after you arrive home from soccer practice. You cheered on the sidelines at practice and when the coach talked to your kid, you stepped in to help your child understand what he was saying.

You all sit down at the table together like a proper family (despite everyone’s whining to eat in front of the television).

You oversee homework and fix a couple of tiny mistakes yourself. Then, you pick out everyone’s school clothes for tomorrow. Mission accomplished! You take off your cape for the day but not before admiring yourself in the mirror.

Ah, the euphoria of overachievement! That adrenaline rush of knowing that you are doing everything that you can to make your kids’ lives great.

Or are you?

Trying to give your kids the perfect life by super-parenting can actually be harmful to them. Studies show that children raised in this environment have poor decision-making skills and little courage. They lack creativity and easily develop anxiety issues. If you’re truly a super parent, you are feeling anxiety just reading this paragraph.

The not-so-super-parents’ secret

You want to know how to give your kids a great life? Let them be kids. They need to get so dirty that you have to hose them off outdoors before you let them inside. They need to go shirtless. Often. They need to pet their goldfish and even taste some of its food.

Kids need to be curious. They need the necessary life skills of self-reliance, self-motivation, and self-confidence. Notice what all of these words don’t have in common: you.

Yes, I know. I just crushed your perfect parenting world, but you don’t have to take your cape off or your matching heels. Every parent is afraid that they won’t be a good parent. You don’t have to worry. You already are one. You want the best for your kids, so let go and let your kids enjoy life.

You remember what a goldfish feels like. Do you really want to deny your kids this simple, yet unforgettable, pleasure? I thought not.