I did the same thing with my son at our park pool last year, he came running over for some reason or other and I told him to get back there and deal with the problem himself. Problem was my wife was there, we got into it good about when it is right to just let them deal with their problems themselves. I think crap like Oprah and Dr. Phil is to blame for a lot of it too.
My wife and I have gotten into it over this too. Fortunately, she waits till be are alone and she backs me up at the moment.