I was wondering about that "enabling" angle as well. I remember when I was in my young twenties a good friend of mine had a parent who pushed him out of the nest. I remember being shocked and offended by the crazy act and thought it equally outrageous as he did. Years later I look back and see that it actually taught my friend the ropes and the difficulties in life taken for granted with the parents taking care of things they figured out years ago. People won't know how hard life is until they get their hands dirty and make it on their own.

I always found it curious how the various species out there push their offspring on to adulthood. Trial by fire, diving in to learn how to swim, there's a lot of wisdom in all that. Life is hard, and at some point you realize people don't get get old by default, unencumbered by adversity and trials and tribulations--all those older folks you see are actually survivors.