'Helicopter' parenting may leave your kid ill-prepared for real life

Washington D.C. [USA], Aug 13 (ANI): Parents beware! You may be damaging your kid's behavior with your overprotective or pampering nature, warns a study. According to experts, 'Mollycoddling' and 'helicopter' parenting may leave primary school children poorly behaved and ill-prepared for real life, reported the Independent. Middle-class parents are damaging their children by not being able to say "no", a top child psychologist has claimed, said Dr Amanda Gummer, a research psychologist specialising in child development. "Wild, unruly children are increasingly likely to be the progeny of so-called 'helicopter' parents," Gummer added. The researchers found that attitude and behaviour of middle class parents in particular was far more shocking than that of their children as 35 children a day were being permanently excluded from school for bad behaviour in England alone. "They are ruthlessly ambitious for their child's future - failing to realise how badly their mollycoddling is preparing them for the compromises of real life," she stated. The team explained that long known hovering parenting style can create children unable to make decisions or exhibit independence, what's less often discussed is how aggressive and difficult the children of helicopter parents - often middle-class, professional and, to their minds, devoted to their darlings - can be at school. The researchers suggested the perceived increase in expulsions can be linked to the combination of poor behaviour and lack of personal skills as a result of bad parenting. They also found that many of these children never heard the word 'no' levelled at them at home. Previous research suggested that parents who exert too much control over their children could be causing them psychological damage later on in life. A 2015 study by University College London tracking more than 5,000 people since birth, found people whose parents had intruded on their privacy in some way, or encouraged dependence were much more likely to be unhappy in their teens, 30s, 40s and later on in life. (ANI)