See, my parents went to the metaphorical ends of the earth to teach me that I’m not in any way a special snowflake who could get them to do, well, anything. And I love them for that. My parents would never engage in acts of imperialism for me. They certainly wouldn’t change their confession of faith because of emotional ties to me.

Because they didn’t view their job as making my wishes and dreams come true — but, instead, to raise me into an adult who didn’t think that the world revolved around me — we have an excellent relationship.

Is such parenting becoming rarer? I recently heard of a college administrator who met with a student and her mother regarding plagiarism charges. Much to the administrator’s surprise, the mother calmly explained that the daughter should not be punished because … wait for it … it was the mother who had plagiarized when she did the child’s coursework for her.

It sounds ridiculous, and it is, but I have friends who constantly make excuses for their children. I catch myself doing it at times, too.