There are many and varied reasons behind over-parenting, and most of them come from a good place: parents simply want their children to do well and have a better future.
Unfortunately, over-parenting does to children more harm than good. A Parent Herald report says that one of its repercussions is that it deprives children the opportunity to develop self-governance and autonomy.
What is over-parenting?
Over-parenting or helicopter parenting is a practice characterised by parents who hover over their children even into and through their young-adult years. According to Phys.org, this type of parenting method is highly criticised for creating very protected, unprepared young adults who return back home.
Types of helicopter parenting
An Atlantic article categorised helicopter parenting into different types: the “pink helicopters,” the “paramedics” and the “bystanders.”
“The bystanders refer to the less actively involved parents while paramedics play an active but more hands-off role in their children’s lives,” a Parent Herald report said. “Pink helicopters, on the other hand, are parents who took a less academically rigorous consideration.”
Negative side effects of helicopter parenting
Helicopter parenting has been known to worsen a child’s anxiety as well as their academic performance during their K-12 years.
Meanwhile, a Huffington Post story says that, in severe cases of over-parenting, it crates anxious, depressed, dependent and emotionally inhibited children.
“If we continue to over-parent our kids, we are in danger of raising further generations of adolescents that are missing three key virtues of character: self-reliance, self-confidence, and resilience,” said psychiatrist and author Abilash Gopal.
Root cause of helicopter parenting
Most often than not, over-parenting stems from the parents’ insecurity and need to appease their own ego, says an NPR article. As a result they want their children to do well so it reflects well on their own image.
Solving the helicopter parenting crisis, according to authors Julie Lythcott-Haims and Jessica Lahey, requires both schools and parents to stop blaming each other, and should instead work together to show kids the value of learning.
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