Research shows children suffer from depression and anxiety due to this style of parenting.
Children who are raised by helicopter parenting often suffer from various mental health and social disorders as shown in a study by the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.
Helicopter parenting is a style of parenting where parents are excessively focused on their children. They involve themselves in all aspects of their children’s lives which sometimes proves detrimental to the child. A research done in 2022, on the effects of overindulgence and helicopter parenting shows that helicopter parenting can trigger anxiety and leave children with social issues.
A research was done by International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP) to show the relation of helicopter parenting with decision making styles and academic performance in the context of Indian adolescents. The research showed that children with intrusive parents who expect high academic performance or exaggerate their failure are more likely to make a mistake, and tend to be more self-critical, anxious, or depressed.
Anushka, a class 12 student, said, “My parents have a bit of helicopter parenting style and it is affecting my life. I want to take decisions about my own my career, whether I should take arts or engineering. But my parents are forcing their opinion on me.”She further said, “I know they are concerned but they should let me decide for my future according to my preferences.”
A survey publishedby the Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR), showed that Helicopter Parenting is acceptable to some extent. It helps guide children but is not in long-term use.
Psychologist Manivanna RJ said parents with a frequent close examination of the child’s attitude or actions have good intentions even if the approach is inappropriate. “They apply helicopter parenting, an over-obsessive-compulsive caretaking of a child who is suspected to have deviated from a set of standards or values or low performance in studies,” said Manivanna RJ.
However, not all parents think that this style of parenting is detrimental. Archana S. mother of a teenage daughter said “As a parent, to safeguard my child from all aspects of life I agree to this helicopter parenting. I do not believe that it weakens the dynamic of the relationship with children.” She further said, “I practiced it with my daughter and it has resulted in a more strong and more good bond with my daughter.”
