When children are young, they depend on us for food, for helping them maneuver their routine and for supporting them with homework and school. When they are slightly older, they become more independent about those areas, but continue depending on us for emotional support and guidance.
This kind of dependence prevents them from feeling confident and capable of living by themselves when they grow up into young adults. They might not tell you this, but deep down they may be fearful living by themselves, handling problematic situations and taking important decisions.As parents, we need to help them get completely independent: physically, practically and emotionally.
When they can manage without us and are not dependent on our emotional and physical support, we can say with certainty that we have completed our parenting tasks well. This kind of independence is really hard but is something we should definitely aspire towards.