Also known as overparenting, helicopter parenting is perhaps one of the most controversial child-raising styles that many child experts won't recommend to parents. The reason? Let's just say that this type of parenting style hampers the development of autonomy and resilience among children, leading to an unprepared and overly sheltered adulthood.
So, what exactly is helicopter parenting? According to child and adolescent psychologist Samantha Carella, helicopter parenting is simply defined as basic parenting skills that have gone on an "excessive level."
Even though it's completely understandable that helicopter parenting aims to protect their children or create a safer and more secure environment for them, too much hovering can be suffocating and affect child development. In fact, Miami Herald has outlined the "unintentional consequences" brought by the "suffocating love" of helicopter parenting.
One of the notable effects of helicopter parenting is having children who often feel "incapable" of doing things on their own. Since helicopter parents usually do not allow their kids to fail and learn from their mistakes, children don't get to experience "real successes and failure."
"Anytime we do things for children, or anyone, that they can do for themselves, we rob them of the joy of accomplishment, and the enrichment of learning how to do things differently if they 'fail,'" parenting coach Maggie Macaulay said while Karen Deerwester added, "It gives children the idea that they won't be successful and competent, and that they need their parents as full-blown partners or rescuers."
Aside from creating incompetent or too dependent child, helicopter parenting can also affect the child's mental health and school performance in the K-12 years. In fact, Huffington Post revealed that severe cases of overparenting can result to children who are emotionally inhibited and too dependent, as well as suffer from anxiety and depression.
"If we continue to overparent 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," psychiatrist and author Abilash Gopal wrote, Parent Herald previously reported.
Due to the information shared on social media about parenting and the pressures parents feel, helicopter parenting has become more common today. In an era where everyone seemed very obsess with success, parents feel the need to hover their kids and push them to perfection.
Since it is understandable why parents tend to overparent, experts stressed the importance for parents to find the right balance in helicopter parenting. As Deerwester said, helicopter parenting is about trust and confidence hence parents should learn to trust themselves, the schools, the educators and most importantly, their children's abilities.
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