Helicopter parenting is a type of parenting style in which parents are excessively involved in their children’s lives and are constantly hovering over them, monitoring and controlling their every move.
They are quick to intervene in their children’s problems, and often make decisions for their children without giving them the opportunity to solve the problem on their own.
Signs of Helicopter Parenting include:
- Constantly monitoring their child’s activities, including their schoolwork, social life, and extracurricular activities.
- Intervening in their child’s problems, often without being asked, and making decisions for their child.
- Being overly protective and over-controlling, not allowing their child to take risks or make their own decisions.
- Being too involved in their child’s academic and social life, including speaking to teachers and coaches on their child’s behalf.
- Not allowing their child to experience failure or disappointment, always trying to smooth things over.
- Constantly checking in on their child, not giving them privacy or the space to develop independence.
- Lacking trust in their child’s ability to make good decisions, and not allowing them to learn from their own mistakes.
While helicopter parenting can come from a good place, such as wanting to protect and guide children, it can also be toxic. Helicopter parenting can prevent children from developing independence, problem-solving skills, and self-reliance.
It can also lead to anxiety and low self-esteem in children and young adults who feel they are not able to make their own decisions and handle their own problems.
It’s important for parents to strike a balance between being involved and supportive while also giving children the space to grow and make mistakes.
This includes setting boundaries, encouraging independence, and fostering a sense of responsibility in children.
