When my daughter Isabella was 11, she became preoccupied with everything she ate. She no longer touched sugar, she avoided carbs, and she exercised constantly. It wasn’t until her 12th birthday party, when she refused to eat a piece of cake, that I realized something was wrong. I went through an enormous amount of guilt; I watch what I eat, and I make sure I exercise, so I worried: did I send her the wrong message? We can’t make the right decisions all the time, but we can give our children unconditional love and as much fearlessness as we can muster.

What are some of your fears as a parent? What are some of the fears your own parents faced in raising you? Can you list ways in which working through those fears changed the outcome of a situation?

–Arianna Huffington