One of the hardest parts of parenting is staying on the sidelines when your kids need to handle things on their own. Every parent understands it’s their job to keep their kids safe and prepare them to ultimately leave home, so they can become adults who can face the world on their own. Reports from researchers and school officials show that overprotective, or “helicopter,” parenting is on the rise. These officials worry that parents are stepping into to many situations that the kids ought to learn how to handle by themselves.
The Trouble with Being a Helicopter
The term helicopter is used to describe these parents because they are constantly hovering around or near their children. If anything seems to be headed toward a situation that might cause their child discomfort, they swoop in and fix things. While these kids might get to make it through childhood with fewer broken hearts or skinned knees, they are painfully ill equipped to handle the wounded hearts and skinned knees that are inevitable once they head out into the world as adults. Helicopter parents give their children the perception that life always works out well, and if something does go wrong someone will show up and fix it so that it’s right again.
Examine the Reason behind the Hovering
So how does a concerned parent know when to step in and when to step aside? There are definitely times when it is in the child’s best interest for a parent to intervene in a harmful situation. But there are also situations that are somewhat painful that teach kids how to cope when things go wrong. One way to find a balance between good parenting and overprotective parenting is to think about why you want to intervene. Are you stepping in because you are concerned for your child’s well-being? Or are you stepping in because you believe the problem means something about you?
Give Kids Room to Learn Some Things the Hard way
Some of life’s lessons are hard. Not everyone can win the big game. Some friends are going to do mean things that hurt your feelings. If you don’t do the work you’re supposed to do, you’re going to be embarrassed when it’s time to turn in a school project. The nice thing is that kids have a chance to learn these hard lessons in the relative safety of school and home. Let them make mistakes and discover the consequences. Hopefully, they will learn the lessons they need to learn before they have to find out in bigger ways out in the real world when they don’t have someone at home to back them up.
Give it Time
If you’re not sure about whether or not to intervene in a situation, give it time. Wait a day or two and see what happens. If the problem persists and your child is still miserable, see if there is something you can do to change the situation. In most cases, you will probably find that your child can find a way to resolve the problem without much more than moral support from you. Your child will be stronger and more ready to face the real world when the time comes.
Be a parent
Some parents use Parental Control Apps to keep an eye on the online activities of their kids. Though these monitoring apps are quite helpful in protecting kids from cyberbullying and other online threats, they may give kids a feeling that you do not trust them. But for parents it is the safety of their children that matters the most. Even so, parents must give space to the kids instead of imposing their decisions on them. There are some situations when parents are left with no other option than taking things into their own hands. The bottom line is that parents should protect the kids only when they think that it is necessary, otherwise let the kids face problems so that the lessons they learn through personal experience are never forgotten.
There are times when you are righty to be a cautious parent, such as when looking for a nanny or babysitter. NannyBackgroundCheck.com can help you make sure the sitter you bring into your home is trustworthy.