Helicopter parenting aka overparenting has long been raising eyebrows when it comes to child rearing styles or methods. In fact, this parenting style has been highly criticized for impeding the development of autonomy and resilience in children that often result to overly sheltered and unprepared young adults.
In spite of several disadvantages of helicopter parenting, "Parenting to a Degree: How Family Matters for College Women's Success" author and University of California-Merced associate professor Laura Hamilton believed that overparenting can be advantageous, especially when it comes to a child's education. In fact, Hamilton stressed higher education needs a partner to be a success and that's where parents come in.
Helicopter Parenting And Higher Education: A Valuable Partnership?
In her new book, Hamilton detailed how helicopter parents help their children traverse the journey to higher education. She also revealed the success of students at several educational institutions is markedly dependent on parents.
"Higher education used to be in a nice partnership with the state, at least in the middle of the 20th century, but as that has changed, that relationship has gone south," Hamilton said, as per MarketWatch. "Universities had to look for some new partners, namely parents. It makes the class background of parents very salient for student success in a way that it may not have been."
Helicopter Parenting Consequences
Even though Hamilton clearly presented the advantages and disadvantages of helicopter parenting to children as detailed by James Leonard of the University of California, many are still wary of the consequences of such parenting style. In fact, some experts said helicopter parenting is causing more harm than good, especially in child raising.
So, why is there a need to end the helicopter parenting practice? According to Huffington Post, helicopter parenting can weaken the self-esteem of a child. Another problem seen in overparenting is the fact that parents often deprive their children to learn coping skills, especially when they feel frustrated, disappointed or stressed.
In addition, helicopter parenting also undermines the opportunity of children to become resilient and self-reliant kids. They often lack the freedom to explore, to discover and to pursue new learnings.
How To Fix Helicopter Parenting Fallout
As a result of helicopter parenting, coddled kids usually depend on other people to fix their problems. But how can it be fixed? The answer is simple - parents should stop coddling and making their children feel victims, Belief Net reveals.
Parents should also stop shielding their children from the harsh realities of life and the world because overprotecting them doesn't help them to cope and become resilient. Parents should also allow their kids to experience failures.
Lastly, parents should never let fear and anxiety to rule their parenting style. The reason? Fear and anxiety can easily be passed to the young and teenage children.
Helicopter Parenting Vs. Submarine Parenting
Due to the mostly negative consequences of helicopter parenting, Marie Schwartz of Brookline suggests an interesting alternative called "submarine parenting." This particular type of parenting allows children to manage situations as they come up but without a parent hovering them, instead they are just keeping a hidden eye on their kids' progress and development, Boston Globe reports.
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