Cross this off your to- do list, immediately!

Someone, somewhere came up with this great idea to teach Cub Scouts basic carpentry and friendly competition. They innocently thought that the boys would make their own cars and that they would be good sports about the race. These great, wise people called it the Pinewood Derby (click for a description) and moms have been cursing their names ever since.

See the problem with the Pinewood Derby is the organizers forgot to factor in the fathers. They didn't realize that there were fathers that would take this competition to the extreme. No one could have seen the monsters lurking inside of every Pinewood Derby dad's hearts. Okay, so not every dad goes crazy. This is obviously a gross generalization but the point is that somewhere along the way dads (and some moms) forgot that this is supposed to be a Cub Scout led project. Parents are just supposed to offer guidance and instruction. This was supposed to be a time for parents to work on a project with their young boys, not a chance for dads to take over.

At our oldest boy's first Pinewood Derby there was a father who wouldn't even let his son touch the car. Obviously this was not a car that the boy had any part in creating. So sad. I've also heard of fathers that have yelled at their boys for losing, have thrown tantrums because someone else won and have generally acted like overtired toddlers.

And don't just think that this is isolated to the Derby, nope, I see it at school when the kids have large projects due. Some are certainly created by parents. I have seen leprechaun traps that are supposed to be made by kindergarteners but instead are Pinterest inspired and professionally assembled. Really? Is this how it's supposed to be? Do we really want to teach our children that their best efforts aren't good enough and that they need an adult to swoop in and take over? Do we want to teach them that following the rules is optional? On the instruction sheets that were handed out before the Pinewood Derby it was very clearly stated that this was to be a Cub Scout led project. So if dad (or some other adult) takes over than we show our kids that it's okay to ignore the rules.

Parents, let's stop this. Taking over our kid's projects creates more work for us, it hurts our children's self- esteem and it makes it frustrating for the kids that do follow the rules. Give yourself a break and let your kids do their own work, they'll probably make a mess and they certainly make mistakes but isn't that what childhood is all about? They'll be okay, I promise.