"He's the parent who proudly helps his son take a science project out of the car, bragging to the other parents that he (i.e., the parent) was up all night working on it. She's the mother who, at an extended family gathering, listens intently to questions Aunt Sally is asking of her darling girl, then answers them before her daughter has a chance to struggle through a child-appropriate response."
"Helicoptering, which in clinical practice some call "overparenting," is characterized by a parent or guardian "helping" and "supervising" the child so much that the child is insulated from challenges they need to face to grow. Age-appropriate struggle is absolutely essential in a child's healthy development, and without it, immaturity can settle in that stymies development."
"It can be hard for any parent to see the difference between appropriate care and mild helicoptering, especially in today's world, full of dangers online and in school. There are some parents, however, whose personality type or background makes them more likely to slip into unhealthy habits and take helicoptering to the extreme."
Overparenting, also called helicoptering, involves excessive help and supervision that shields children from the challenges needed for growth. Age-appropriate struggle supports resilience and healthy development; absence of such struggle allows immaturity to persist and stunt progress. Some parents struggle to distinguish appropriate care from mild helicoptering amid real concerns about online and school dangers. Personality traits and adverse childhood experiences like abuse or neglect increase risk of extreme helicoptering. Anxiety disorders can impair decision-making and fuel overparenting, and parents with such impairments should pursue healing and/or therapy to restore healthier parenting patterns.
Read at Psychology Today
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