How Do Overprotective Parents Affect Children’s Lives?

Parental involvement in children’s lives directly influences the developmental stages of their growth. In most cases, excessive expression of love and care may lead to a pathological condition where the child is unable to leave the family home or start an independent life painlessly. Of course, these helicopter parents try to protect their children from mistakes and disappointments, but there is a fine line between demonstrating concern and invading the privacy of their children.

First of all, extremely close involvement does not allow the children to make their own decisions and experience consequences. Although a decrease in supervision may also lead to the improvement of family communication and a better understanding of the child’s inner world, they may face numerous difficulties in the future. These can be the inability to control emotions or find a common language with friends at school. Moreover, in adulthood, these children may show less initiative and independence, risking falling under the influence of more authoritative peers.

On the other hand, when parents overprotect their children, they deny them an opportunity to become mature and experience emotions required for developing life skills. For instance, if parents raise their children in the total absence of authority, The children feel impunity and permissiveness. They may have problems with adaptation in kindergarten or school because of their arrogant behavior. Moreover, if the child’s genius and uniqueness are not recognized by other people, the child will get angry with the parents, who gave him or her a false sense of perfection. As a result, the child will be insecure in adulthood, unable to solve the problems on his or her own, and will need considerable attention and support from others.

If the parents failed to find the right balance and continue hovering over their children, a feeling of anxiety can occur. In other words, when the parent is fearful of many things, the child becomes overly scared as well (Trautner, 2017). Also, when a child always hears interdictions, such as “You must not!” or “Don’t touch!” it will demonstrate that the world is too dangerous. Viewed this way, it may result in anxiety in children, sleep disorders, irritability or apathy, and a lack of motivation in the future (Ungar, 2014).

In conclusion, it follows that the drawbacks outweigh the advantages in the issue of the impact of overprotecting children. By not allowing children to act and manage emotions on their own, parents do not let them get their own experience and learn how to surmount difficulties in a mature way. Subsequently, numerous problems may appear in the future, such as self-doubt, apathy, or falling into bad associations, as well as psychological effects, such as suppression of the personality, anxiety disorders, and troubles with communication.

Works Cited

Gracias, Amrita. “What Happens When Overprotected Children Grow Up.” ParentCircle, Parentcircle, 25 Aug. 2019, www.parentcircle.com/article/what-happens-when-overprotected-children-grow-up/.
Trautner, Tracy. “Overprotective Parenting Style.” MSU Extension, 20 Sept. 2018, www.canr.msu.edu/news/overprotective_parenting_style.
Ungar, Michael. “Overprotective Parenting: Helping Parents Provide Children the Right Amount of Risk and Responsibility.” The American Journal of Family Therapy, vol. 37, no. 3, 2009, pp. 258–271., doi:10.1080/01926180802534247.

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