The night before my 12-year-old daughter’s first overnight camping trip, I desperately wanted to unzip her suitcase to count how many socks she had packed. My kid showed me the packing list with every item checked off; I just needed to trust her. And if she forgot something (like her raincoat), I knew she’d be resilient enough to handle it.
“Gradual release” is a phrase educators and psychologists use to describe the countless tiny steps parents take in letting go and fostering young adults’ independence...