"Only mother" or "nobody but father" are phrases that are so frequent as to become habitual, while the "you yourself used to let me do this or that" is the burden of many an excuse for misdemeanors.

And after all the years of parental indulgence, what is your reward?
The spring is gone from your own being, while your children will not let you live your life over again in theirs.
We all recall AEsop's fable of the young man about to be executed, who begged on the scaffold for a last word with his mother, and when the wish was granted, stooped to her and bit off the tip of her ear, that the pain and disfigurement might serve as a constant reminder of the hatred he felt for the over-indulgence and lack of discipline which had brought him to this shameful death.

The hurt which the mother's heart feels at the thought of causing her child's downfall is pain too great to be endured.
The letting-alone principle is a short-sighted one.

Even in infancy a spoiled child may make such a nuisance of himself as to produce a disagreeable impression upon all who know him,--an impression which it takes many years of model behavior to eradicate.

It is actual cruelty to throw upon the child the work the parent should have performed.