Let Me Do It!

Do you remember the TV show Mad TV? It was a sketch comedy show in the late 90’s and early 2000’s that was very similar to Saturday Night Live. In fact, I believe it was SNL’s biggest rival after In Living Color went off the air. Truth be told, I preferred Mad TV over SNL. I just related with the humor style and writing a bit more, I guess.

What I loved most were the recurring characters that would appear. There was Ms. Swan - a short, plump, Asian woman who did nails and spoke broken English - portrayed by Alex Borstein, who later went on to do Lois Griffin’s voice on Family Guy.

Then, there was everyone’s favorite…Stuart! Stuart was a young boy (played by a grown man) who is constantly hovered over by his over-protective, neurotic mother. If you haven’t seen it, embrace your inner teenager and take a journey down the Youtube rabbit hole to enjoy some Stuart time.

There were many times where someone would try to interact with Stuart and he would lay on the floor and push them away with his foot, usually while giving them a harsh “Nooooo!” in his high-pitched, whispery voice. Often times, the person would be trying to help him do something like tie his shoe or play baseball. In response, Stuart would say, “Let me do it!” in his hilarious voice.

For those of you who have seen the show, you are probably laughing and reliving some of your favorite Stuart moments.

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Not long ago, I was buckling my son into his car seat, complete with more safety features than NASA’s last space shuttle. Usually, I fasten the chest buckle first, then spend the better part of an impatient frustration episode trying to but the two little flaps into the buckle at the base of the seat which he is usually already sitting on. (Parents, do you feel me?)

But this day was different. This day, as I was about to fasten the chest buckle, he grabbed the buckles out of my hand and say, “Let me do it.” I was taken aback. (Not going to lie, I had a Stuart flashback, too.)

Similarly, my wife was helping him get dressed one morning and, from his room, I heard the same thing: “Let me do it.”

“Man,” I thought, “my little guy is growing up.” (Also, Stuart flashback.)

Part of me wanted to say, “Stop growing up! Let me do it for you.” But the rest of me enthusiastically thought, “Yes! He’s getting it! He’s growing up!”

I just wish he would start saying “Let me do it” about cleaning up his toys… Anyway…I digress.

——————————————————————————————————————— Do you remember that feeling you got as a kid when you did something by yourself for the first time after needing help for so long? Oh the pride and joy of that first potty. That first time tying your shoes. That maiden voyage on your two-wheeled bike without training wheels. You felt like a champion. You felt like you were on top of the world. You knew you had just conquered something and life would be that much easier from then on.

So here’s my question…

Why are so many parents robbing their children of these experiences?

Did you know that many mother birds will actually push their babies out of the nest to teach them how to fly? Now, I’m not saying you need to go push your kid into traffic to teach them how to cross the street. But, I am saying it’s ok to loosen the apron strings.

Kids may not say “Let me do it” verbatim, but they are saying it. It may be in the way they attempt things without asking for help. It may be in a way that comes across as a spirit of rebellion and disobedience. It may be in a way that says, “Ugh, Mom! {Eye roll}”

Let them do it. If they do it wrong, it’s ok. Mistakes are often the greatest teachers. No struggle, no victory.

Independence vs dependence.

Resilient vs …anything but.

Which is truly best for the next generation?

Let them do it.