I dont have children of my own but I am an early childhood teacher and I can say that you are absolutely right!
The ammount of times I had kids tell me they couldnt do things.. such as tie shoes .. the best you can do is let them have a try first - they will get frustrated but thats part of the learning! I think its natural to not want children to struggle but that is them learning :)
My ideas might be different when I havhave my own children though :P
Right, I agree with you. They need to learn how to do things on their own, even if there is some frustration. My 7 year old tends to get upset easily if he can't get something right the first time. So, it can be difficult to teach independence to him, but I know it's necessary.
Yeah often tough love is the answer!