Today, I would like to talk about what has been called “Intensive Parenting.”

I want to talk about one of the things that makes parenting intensive these days and one way to reduce the workload.

And to help, I want to quote Dawn Staley, former Temple University Women’s basketball coach, Olympic gold medalist, and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, who was interviewed a couple of years ago by the wonderful Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air.

Dawn Staley made some interesting observations about parenting. She said that parents these days often cannot stand to see their children feel uncomfortable. She said that the parents of her players often want to protect them from frustration, failure…or even minor discomfort.

In her opinion, this takes a lot of work on the parents’ part and is a questionable strategy for raising resilient, independent children.

Dawn Staley said:

“I find that just through my life, being uncomfortable, I found a way to grow. And I give that to our players.…I’ll give you an example: Most of the players that I coach, their parents, they don’t want them to hurt. Like, they don’t want them to be unhappy. They don’t want them to go through life hurting or failing…bad game, bad grade, just break up with your (partner). Like, their parents don’t want them to go through that.

And I am the direct opposite of their parents. Like, I want them to do that. I want you to break up, have a breakup. I want you to have a bad game. I want you to fail the test, because from those moments, growth is taking place. You find a way to not have those repeat performances in…your life. So sometimes my players—they struggle with me because I don’t treat them like their........

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