Ever staked a tree so much it looked like it was in a full body cast? Yeah, that was me. I mean, maybe I went overboard but my poor maple still leans a little.
Honestly you are not crazy at all, that's totally the way to go. I stopped staking a few years back after reading about it, and the trees in my yard are way sturdier now. They definitely learn to stand on their own and put down better roots when they have to deal with a little wind early on. Tbh it seems like common sense once you see it work.
Totally! My mom always over-staked her tomato plants and they'd get all floppy and weak. Your point about trees, @daniel_martin, totally reminds me of that.