Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shares parenting lesson: Why making life easier for your children may not always help them

In an age of helicopter parenting and constant supervision, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has a surprisingly old-school message for mothers and fathers: stop trying to make life too easy for your children.

Speaking about raising his two young children in a conversation with Patrick O'Shaughnessy for his podcast, Khosrowshahi argued that while parents naturally want to protect their children from discomfort and failure, stepping in too often can ultimately hold them back. His thoughts also echoed with business leader Michael Dell.

"I think we're doing our kids a disservice by giving them too much, being around too much," he said.

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'It's the challenges that form you'

At the heart of Khosrowshahi's argument is a simple belief that struggle shapes character. Parents often view obstacles as problems to be solved on behalf of their children. Whether it's smoothing over social conflicts, intervening at the first sign of difficulty or ensuring every path is free from setbacks, the instinct usually comes from a place of love.

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He elaborated, “I don't know about you as a kid, but on the weekends, my mom would be like, ‘Get out of here and come back for dinner.’ Figure it out. And I think this kind of the helicopter parenting, etc, or being around your kids all the time. You want to love your kids... You want to know that they're absolutely, absolutely loved and appreciated, but it's the challenges in life that form you. And it's the overcoming of these challenges that give humans a profound satisfaction."

The danger of overhelping

Khosrowshahi believes the problem isn't parental care itself. It's when care turns into constant intervention.

"If you as a parent are overcoming these challenges for your kids, you're actually doing them a disservice long-term, whereas short-term you think you're doing them a favour," he said.

Perhaps the most striking part of Khosrowshahi's philosophy is his rejection of the idea that happiness comes from avoiding hardship.

"They've got to learn how to make it in this world themselves," he said, before adding, "A happy life is not necessarily an easy life."

Khosrowshahi acknowledged that stepping back as a parent isn't always easy, especially when it comes from a place of love. Yet he said he and his wife, Sydney, make a conscious effort not to do everything for their children, believing that independence is a skill that must be learned early.

"They're responsible for their homework. They've got to learn how to make it in this world themselves within a scope of family, which will prepare them for the outside world, which, as you know, can't throw you a lot of curveballs,” he added.