Helicopter Parenting

In this article we discuss about what is Helicopter Parenting, Reasons of helicopter parenting and the effects of it.

Are You A Helicopter Parent? Defining The Term
Quotes: Children need to take the responsibility for their actions so that they do not become adults believing that nothing is ever their fault. Today, the world has become much smaller, due to the media connect it boasts of. With the advent of technology, every small thing has been granted a broad vision.

Take for example, parenting. Who knew that parenting would also be classified into different categories, after all parenting is parenting. But the concept of parenting has gained a broader perspective today. So let’s talk about the one which I’m sure you haven’t heard of- Helicopter Parenting.

The term “Helicopter Parent” was first used in Dr. Haim Ginott’s 1969 book ‘Parents & Teenagers’ by teens who said their parents would hover over them like a helicopter. It became popular enough to become a dictionary entry in 2011. Similar terms include “lawnmower parenting”, “cosseting parent”, or “bulldoze parenting” 

Helicopter Parenting refers to a style of parents who are overly focused on their children. In this type of parenting, parents take too much responsibility of their child’s experiences and failures and successes.

Reasons for Helicopter Parenting

1. Fear of dire consequences: At times parents fear that their child might score low grades in school, won’t make friends or fail a test or an interview. The fear of these things make them hover too much in the life of their children. They end up making their child feel incapable of doing anything on their own.

2. Anxiety: Parents worry about the economy, the world market and the world in general, which makes them focus in their child’s life even more. Worrying about such things make parents believe that they can save their children from the horrors of the world. They try to act as a shield for their child.

3. Overcompensating: Adults who felt unloved, neglected, or ignored as children can overcompensate with their own children. Excessive attention and monitoring are attempts to remedy a deficiency the parents felt in their own upbringing.

4. Peer pressure: When parents see other parents getting involved in the life of their child, it triggers a similar response. Sometimes when we observe other parents over-parenting or being helicopter parents, it will pressure us to do the same.

Effects of Helicopter Parenting

While Helicopter Parenting is always done with good intentions, it ends up harming the child in many ways. So let us look at the effects of the same.

1. Low self-confidence and self-esteem: When parents over-involve in their child’s life, it makes them think that their parents don’t trust them. This is how a child starts losing confidence in themselves.

2. Undeveloped coping skills: When parents always try to clean up their child’s mess, how are the children ever going to learn to do it by themselves? Such children become less competent in dealing with the stresses in their lives.

3. Sense of entitlement: When children are raised in a helicopter parenting style, they grow up thinking that they are entitled to the joys of the world. They always feel the need of things going by their plan.

4. Undeveloped life skills: When helicopter parenting starts at an early age, parents end up doing every small things for their child. So a child doesn’t always learn basic life skills such as washing their plates, packing lunch, setting up a dinner table, cooking basic foods and much more.

Through helicopter parenting, a child always ends up being overshadowed by their parents. A child has little to no space left to bloom on their own. Allow your children to struggle, let them face disappointments in life and help them work their way out of it instead of you doing it completely.