Outsourcing Messier Parts Of Parenting

(CBS)  The term "outsourcing" usually refers to U.S. companies sending work to other countries. But there's a new form of outsourcing: parents hiring people to do things they are unwilling or unable to do for their kids.

The Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith explained the trend in Monday's installment of Perfect Parenting, starting with the example of little Rachel, learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels.

It's one of those milestone moments, which many parents treasure. But in this case, it's a professional coach who is leading Rachel through her first wobbly efforts. He was hired by her parents and says it makes sense.

"A lot of parents don't really get the time to teach their kids. And if they don't have the time and they don't eventually learn those activities, I think they will lose in the long run," Aresh Mohit told Smith. "Somebody definitely has to teach them."

Smith reports the trend is catching on, and lessons traditionally taught by family are instead being farmed out to professionals.

"Parents have always asked for help," said Jane Waldfogel, of the Columbia University School of Social Work. "Teaching their children to ride bicycles, or learning how to swim. But, in the past, parents could ask Uncle Charlie or Uncle Joe or Grandpa. Now that families live further apart from each other, and extended family members are busier, it's harder to ask extended family for help."

Even the more intimate rites of passage such as potty training can be outsourced. It's a task that sometimes brings anxiety for both parents and children, so coaches like Wendy Sweeney have made it their specialty.

"They transition from their pull-up or their diaper to their underpants, and they need to put it on themselves," Sweeney explained. "So pretty much the whole process is taking responsibility off the parent and putting it on the child, but we're giving the child all the tools they need, so that they're going to be successful at it."

And experts say there's nothing wrong with parents asking for a bit of help.

"For the most part, I actually think it's a great thing that parents are willing to admit what they can't do and to ask for help," said Waldfogel. "I think there's a time when you should throw up your hands and say, 'I'm just not able to do this myself,' and ask for some help."

As for Rachel, her parents decided to hire a coach to take off the training wheels after they tried and failed to teach her older brother, Adam, to ride. Their mother, Karen, says they took that lesson to heart.

"I knew the emotional toll of us trying to teach him was taking on the household," she told Smith.

And their trainer, Aresh Mohit, says he's happy to take the stress off the parents.

"I think that's why they call to me," he said. "Because they like to do this the easy way, without the argument, without the bumps and bruises, without the cuts and screaming. It takes two hours for me to do it. It takes parents two or three weeks."

Sure enough, Adam learned in two lessons and has now moved on to rollerblading. And Rachel was quickly on her way, without the tears.

"As a parent, you want to be involved in everything you do. But, in the end, you entrust a lot to other people and to them," said her mother, Karen. "And as long as they learn these things and enjoy what they're doing, that's what's important."

If you like the idea of getting help with potty training, check out www.bootycampmom.com.