Doing so forces them to either tackle a challenge independently, with a little push from parent that communicates to them that they are capable of doing it without help, or it gives them an out for why they didn't try or succeed at that hard task--because "you didn't help me". Either way, it works for kids. If they try and are successful, great. If they try and fail, or don't try, it's not as devastating.

...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...