Helicopter Parenting Is Harmful to Children In recent years, there are more and more people beginning to discuss parenting. According to research, there is an extreme concept of parenting called “hovering parent” and “helicopter parent.” For this kind of parenting, children are living and controlled by an authoritarian approach. Their parents try to involve and interfere in the children’s life. The parents hover over their children and don’t give any freedom and leisure time to them. Some of hovering parents can’t even tolerate their children to make a tiny mistake and punish them for ridiculous reasons such as playing a wrong note on piano or getting a wrong answer on an exam. Therefore, the majority of people start to blame this type of parenting and try to convince people that helicopter parenting is harmful to children because it restricts children’s free will and development of a sense of independence.
In order to help children develop their problem-solving skill and motivation in life, helicopter parents should stop restricting their children’s free will and give them more space and time. For instance, when I was studying in junior high school in Taiwan, my mother thought that I didn’t have ability to study alone and maintain my grade point by myself. Therefore, she found a lot of private tutors to substitute for her and told them to keep my grade point around A+. She considered that my grade point was the most important thing in my life during that period. Consequently, I gradually lost my ability to solve difficult questions and navigate problems by myself because I became heavily dependent on my private tutors. Furthermore, because my mother deprived me of my entire leisure time after school and forced me to study with private tutors every day, I began to lose my interest in playing music and my motivation to learn new things. I became extremely passive and felt that I was sentenced to life imprisonment and living in a prison. Fortunately, after I graduated from junior high school, I made a request to become an international student and study in Canada alone. I told them that their Chinese parenting style made me lose my enthusiasm of studying and their hovering made me feel that I was incapable to complete and achieve any goal by myself. I was surprised that they accepted my request and supported me to study in Canada for last four years. During the period without helicopter parenting, I adjusted my attitude toward studying and gradually regained my self esteem. As a result, if helicopter parents can give more freedom, free will, and human rights to their children, the children might have a better and healthier development of their solving skill and motivation of life.
Helicopter parenting might restrict childrens’ development of being independent. In “Helicopter Parents-Stop Hovering,” Dr. Mark H. Shapiro, the author points out some parents tend to be overprotecting their children and create negative view within their children. For instance, in the article, the author said some employers begin to complain that there are parents who accompany job-seeking children to interviews and help their children by asking some question such as “health benefits, promotions, and pay increase.” (line 9) Moreover, they discover that some “children use their cell phone to consult their parents during a job interview.” (line 10) Those immature behaviors impact applicants’ first impression and hurt the childrens’ chance to be hired because the majority of employers only want people who are independent and able to strike out and fight for their own benefit without parental assistance. Thus, the author advises that parents should stop hovering over their children and give them opportunity to develop their independence, starting from college. Similarly, in the article “This is Your Life, Not Your Parents,” Rosie Reilman tries to persuade children to be independent and tells them that “… don’t let them live your lives for you. This is your life. Take ownership of it.” (line 13) She discovers that some parents don’t want to see their children struggle and fail when they encounter great difficulties. Therefore, those parents try to control and restrict their children’s free will and it has a serious negative effect on children’s mental growth. Not only Dr. Mark H. Shapiro, but also Rosie Reilman criticizes that helicopter parenting limits children’s development of independence.
Parenting methods have become a hot topic of debate in recent years because people know that different types of parenting might affect children’s character and attitude toward life. In the large number of parenting styles, helicopter parenting is the most incredulous and ferocious. According to statistics, one-third of Chinese children experience hovering parenting and most of them are short of self-control, motivation, and creativity. Children who live under helicopter parenting might experience lack of free will and lose the opportunity to develop independence. Does helicopter parenting benefit to children? I don’t think so.