Here are just some of the many paradoxes inherent in parenting. You look at them one way, and they make sense. It's important for parents to pass on family traditions and values, but also to allow children to be unique individuals. Encouraging children to express their thoughts and feelings increases the chances that they'll stand up to you. Effective teaching isn't always rewarded by immediate changes in behavior or tidy resolutions.
Children move toward independence and dependence at the same time.
Parents can be delighted and enthused at the new things their kids can do, and simultaneously feel the loss of their child's younger self. When you cultivate independence in your kids, they sometimes become independent in a way that leaves you out. Parents can love parenting one minute, and hate it the next. Your biting, hitting, pushing child can actually be evolving into an empathetic, caring individual. We're preparing children to live in a world that we can't possibly imagine.