Helicopter parenting refers to how some parents are paying incredibly close attention to their children’s lives, to the point of controlling several of the child’s knowledge and experiences. One could argue that doing so will allow the child to grow up in a safe environment. However, there are negative consequences to not allowing children to experience life for own selves.
It is growing to become a common practise and it appears to adults to be normal. In recent years, the news has been filled with stories about how much stress students have been subjected to.
There are a number of students who are constantly pressured to do well in school, study more, and avoid any social interaction. Seeing the negative effects on them, one has to but believe that mothers and fathers can be harmful to their children.
Here are some of the ways helicopter parenting is harming students
- Meddle in children’s school and college lives:
At school level, helicopter parents may go to great lengths to get their child into a particular school or teacher. They not only supervise, but also assist their children with their schoolwork or projects. After school, parents may be in charge of researching and selecting universities for their child to apply to. When their child applies to colleges, they keep a close eye on him or her. If their child has been denied admission, they may even contact the admissions office for an explanation.
- Emotional Problems
Children with helicopter parents do not learn how to regulate their emotions because their parents do it for them. If they were down, their parents would cheer them up. If they were upset, their parents would console them. When they leave the nest, their lack of emotional regulation skills becomes a major issue. In senior classes they often feel unable to cope with class rivalries.
- Decision making is a challenge for them
Helicopter parents are more likely to make vital decisions for their kids rather than allowing them to make their own. They’re afraid of allowing the kids to make a mistake. They believe that if they could prevent disasters from occurring in the first place, they should. If parents continue to do this until the kids are older, they will have no opportunity to learn to be independent and take charge of their life. When the kids grow up, everything they do as an adult appears to require parents’ permission first. However, without being in their shoes, parents may make poor decisions and order them to do something they despise. This dependency will stunt the personal development of the kid and, as a result, limit their ability to function in society.
- Weak life skills:
It is mostly the adolescents and young students who are especially vulnerable. Since they were small children, these children have been protected from tough situations in real life. They are more irrational and anxious and have a more difficult time becoming self-sufficient. They have irrational dread of failing, low self-esteem and ineffective coping skills in dealing with issues of day-to-day life.
