You may have heard of the term “helicopter parenting”. It is a type of parenting style where parents do everything for their children. It may seem like it is a good idea, but the risks involved with this parenting style far outweighs its benefits.
What Is Helicopter Parenting and How Does It Affect Children?
Helicopter parenting is a term that you will often hear if a parent refuses to let a child make mistakes and learn from them. Helicopter parenting could mean that a parent is concerned for the wellbeing of their child. However, it can cause more problems than you can imagine. We’ve listed down a few of the more common problems that a child with helicopter parents will have.
Children Will Have Lower Independence
An issue that most children who are experiencing this type of parenting style is that they will have a much more difficult time being independent. The lack of independence happens because of how parents never let their child exercise and train their own independence. When it is finally time for the child to leave his or her parents, they will have a much more difficult time making their own decisions and instead having someone else decide for them.
Higher Levels of Anxiety and Low Self Confidence
Another issue that helicopter parenting can cause is that children will have high levels of anxiety paired with low self confidence. This can be a deadly combination as children will be afraid of making their own decisions. It also makes them unable to be creative and find alternative solutions to other problems that they may face in life.
Children With Helicopter Parents Will Develop Slower
Children learn from the experiences that they have. However, having a helicopter parent could mean that a child will have difficulty finding opportunities to learn something new. Their parents may even cloud the experience by interfering with how the child learns it. A great example of this are the logic puzzles that are commonly given to younger children. A helicopter parent will often do these puzzles for their child instead of guiding them and helping them figure it out themselves.
They Will Be More Adverse To Change and Self-Improvement
Everyone needs to constantly be improving in order to move ahead in their lives. However, helicopter parenting can affect a child’s ability and willingness to improve themselves. Children who undergo this type of parenting will often cause them to be stuck in their own ways and refuse advice or change. It can even lead to them stagnating and rejecting change that could help them grow their careers and future.
Higher Likelihood of Developing Mental Health Problems
The biggest problem that helicopter parenting can cause is the fact that children with these types of parents will have a much higher likelihood of developing mental health problems. These mental health problems include chronic anxiety and depression. These can damage the ability of a child to cope with their environment and they end up being dependant on their parents for the majority of their lives.