I'm sorry that I'm the one who has to break it to you, but you are ruining your children. You may be saying to yourself, "I don't know who this chick is, but how dare she say that!" Well, I'm an unemployed middle school English teacher. No, I don't have any kids of my own. No, I am not currently teaching any kids, either. But, guess what, someone has to tell you the truth and be willing to hurt your feelings a little bit to open your eyes about this.

I've taught in a dozen schools, in several dozen classrooms and in all kinds of placements. I've taught fifth, sixth and seventh grade. I've taught in rural, suburban and inner-city settings. I've taught students with learning disabilities, students with physical disabilities and students without any disabilities. I have every right to have these opinions. Just because I don't have an endangered animal as a pet doesn't mean that I can't have the opinion that it's wrong to kill them. Get it? Alright, good. Thousands upon thousands of teachers teach and deal with your children on a daily basis. They love them, they teach them, they care for them. They also know when you are ruining them.

With a new school year just starting or about to start, you really need to take a good look at yourself and your kid. Are they ready for whatever grade they are entering? Have they been prepared enough mentally and socially to be successful this year? If not, you might need to prepare yourself for a whole lot of phone calls home and notes from the principal. A lot of behavioral problems in children stem from what they were taught at home to be acceptable. If they were taught bad habits or not ever taught good ones, you may be in a whole world of hurt.

Stop overindulging your children. For the love of everything good on this planet, please stop it. I don't mean stop giving them things. That's not the message I wish to spread whatsoever. Love your children. Give them things that make them happy and give them praise. But, stop living their lives for them. You have to think of parenting as raising successful adults, not raising functional children. Yes, your child may be functional, but functionality does not necessarily equal successful.

By middle school, your child should be able to answer a phone. They should be able to order their own food. They should be able to hold a normal conversation with an adult. If they can't do those things successfully, you probably overindulged your kid. You never let them answer the phone, you ordered their food for them, or you spoke on their behalf instead of letting them speak. You held their hand through absolutely everything and never taught them how to do these simple things on their own. These rather simple skills are something they will need to be successful when they reach high school, college and the real world. Once kids get into their teen years, learning something like this is pretty much impossible. You've already shaped their social skills and this is basically how they will function as adults. Can you imagine an adult who can't order their own food at a restaurant? No way! So, don't mold a kid into someone who can't either. See where I'm going with this?

Yes, help your child when they need help. Yes, guide them and show them the right way to do things. Yes, build their confidence in doing things on their own. But, listen to me on this, if you never allow your child to do things on their own, you are setting your child up for failure.