One of the tougher challenges we face as parents (and teachers) is knowing when to give our kids a loving but firm “push” for their own good—as in encouraging them to work a little harder or stick with something—and when we need to pull the plug on an endeavor or let them make their own decisions. There are no hard and fast answers to this question, of course, but when parents seek my advice on the issue, I’ve found it helpful to suggest that they ask themselves at least a fe