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Sheltering a child from the consequences of his or her behavior could help create an immature adult later on.
One of the prime objectives during the preadolescent years is to teach a child that behavior leads inevitably to consequences. Unfortunately, that connection is often interrupted. For example, a seven-year-old begs for a dog but is never asked to feed and care for him. A ten-year-old is caught stealing candy from a store, but he's released to the custody of his parents. A fifteen-year-old takes the keys to the family car, but the parents pay the fine for her driving without a license. So all through childhood, such loving parents, in their misguided efforts to shield the child from pain, have stood between his or her behavior and the natural consequences that flow from it. Under the circumstances, a young person may enter adulthood not really knowing that life can bite. He or she may become a grown-up adolescent constantly needing someone to bail him or her out of trouble.
How does one avoid this blunder: By linking behavior to consequences. If Jane carelessly
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