Over-protective parenting the lead cause for dependent adults
By: Sophie Opondo
Posted on Thursday, January 9, 2020
Someone once said that adults are just outdated children. It’s interesting to know that children learn most and are easily shaped between the ages of 0-5 years especially when it comes to ethics, their personality and belief system.
Susan Kiragu a marriage and family therapist was a guest recently on Today’s Parent (a show that airs on Switch TV Weekdays at 10:00 AM) to enlighten young parents on the effects of over-protective parenting.
A parent is like a guard rail providing a safe space for the child to grow and develop. Children while growing are at the mercy of their parents for direction and counsel. We naturally form strong attachment to people close to us. This is a tendency that begins at birth. Babies need to feel safe, soothed and seen by their parents. There’s however a very thin line between this aspect of good parenting and suffocating young minds.
Helicopter parenting…
Helicopter parenting tends to stifle a child’s growth and creativity. How? The parent is always hovering around the child not allowing them to make any mistakes, instead they spoon feed them on everything. Consequently, this stunts the child’s growth as they tend to develop a need to involve their parents before making any major decisions. This works against them later in life.
Ms. Kiragu encouraged parents to allow the children make mistakes and guide them to safety accordingly. If the child wants to go out to play with their peers, then let them do without watching their every step. There is a way children behave when they know they are being watched which prevents them from expressing themselves. Allow the child to socialize without being chaperoned.
If obstructed for too long especially when transitioning to adulthood such kids either rebel or overdo it when they get the little chance to experience “freedom”. The later might result in mistakes that follow them for a long time.
Most people naturally follow parents’ ways when it comes to parenting, some tend to over compensate while others try to do their lives over again by dictating the lives of their children. Create a balance, understand situations and apply the appropriate form of discipline, be it dialogue, negotiating or when push comes to shove a little spanking.
