A study found that over-controlling parenting or helicopter parenting can negatively affect a child’s ability to manage his or her emotions and behavior and suggests children need space to learn and grow on their own, without parents hovering over them.
The researchers followed the 422 children over the course of eight years and the result of the study published on Monday by the American Psychological Association’s journal Developmental Psychology.
Children whose parents are over-controlling “helicopter parents” when they are toddlers, are less able to control their emotions and impulses as they get older apparently leading to more problems with school, new research suggests.
Data were collected from observations of parent-child interactions, teacher-reported responses and self-reports from the 10-year-olds. During the observations, the research team asked the parents and children to play as they would at home.
Children need parents who are sensitive to their needs. When kids are capable of managing a situation, parents should recognize it but guide them when emotional situations become too challenging.
This helps children develop the ability to handle challenging situations on their own as they grow up, and leads to better mental and physical health, healthier social relationships and academic success, but over-controlling parenting can limits those opportunities, according to the study.
“Our research showed that children with helicopter parents may be less able to deal with the challenging demands of growing up, especially with navigating the complex school environment,” said Nicole B. Perry with the University of Minnesota and lead author of the study.
“Children who cannot regulate their emotions and behavior effectively are more likely to act out in the classroom, to have a harder time making friends and to struggle in school,” said Perry.
“Children who developed the ability to effectively calm themselves during distressing situations and to conduct themselves appropriately had an easier time adjusting to the increasingly difficult demands of per-adolescent school environments,” Dr Perry added.
“To maintain healthy relationships, it is important to be able to assert one’s own beliefs during a disagreement while also continuing to be warm toward the person,” said lead author Barbara Oudekerk, a psychologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
>Juthy Saha
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