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Sir,

A man, an avid gardener, saw a small butterfly laying a few eggs in one of the pots in the garden. Since that day he looked at that egg with ever growing curiosity and eagerness. The egg started to move and shake a little. He was excited to see a new life coming up right in front of his eyes.

The egg started to expand and develop tiny cracks. A tiny head and antennae started to come out ever so slowly. The man’s excitement knew no bounds; he got his magnifying glass and sat to watch the life and body of a pupa coming out. He saw the struggle of the tender pupa and couldn’t resist his urge to ‘help’.

He went and got a tender forceps to help the egg break, a nip here a nip there to help the struggling life and the pupa was out. The man was ecstatic. He waited now each day for the pupa to grow and fly like a beautiful butterfly, but alas that never happened. The larvae pupa had an oversized head and kept crawling along in the pot for the full four weeks and died.

Depressed

Depressed the man went to his botanist friend and asked the reason. His friend told him that the struggle to break out of the egg helps the larvae to send blood to its wings and the head push helps the head to remain small so that the tender wings can support it through its four-week cycle.

In his eagerness to help, the man destroyed a beautiful life. Struggles help all of us, that’s why a bit of effort goes a long way in developing our strength to face life’s difficulties. As parents we sometimes go too far trying to help and protect our children from life’s harsh realities and disappointments.

We don’t want our children to struggle like we did. Overprotected children are more likely to struggle in relationships and with challenges. It is the parents’ job to prepare children for the road and not prepare the road for the children.

Sisi