I want to share a cautionary tale to all the parents out there who are sheltering their children from choices, that sooner or later, they will have to face, and even more so, from the consequences of those choices. This cautionary tale is mine.

My parents never made a lot of money, but they were both post-Depression children, born in the 1940's. They lived on very little growing up. My paternal grandparents lost a house in the 30's, during the height of the depression. My maternal grandparents ...