When you love someone - set them free?

When you love someone, you do anything to make sure that they are safe and protected. Whether your are mother, father, husband, or wife, there will always be somebody that you would want to ensure is safe. But, when do you draw the line in sheltering a person from the harsh realities of the world. For instance, as a mother, how do you raise your kids so that they learn to defend themselves from the insulting officemate or class bully? While we all want to protect the people we love, I find that one of the challenges to raising kids is knowing when to let go. We all want to raise children that are polite and courteous, however, do parents come short when teaching kids how to be assertive? Is assertiveness something that you just learn from everyday life? Do you assert yourself all the time or do you have to pick when to be assertive?