Are you overparenting your child? Signs to look out for

Over parenting can affect the overall growth and development of children. Read on to know about the signs of over parenting so that you can prevent it.

By: Satata Karmakar | | Updated: October 16, 2020 9:29 am

With an only child, parents tend to get very protective. This can, at times, suffocate the child and inhibit his natural personality. @Shutterstock

As a parent, your child’s physical and mental wellbeing is always at the top of your mind and that is how it should be. But too much of anything can have serious side effects. Have you noticed yourself hovering around your child way too much? Do you find yourself rushing to tie his tie or laces for him when he takes a minute longer, or do you run to pacify him in the middle of a football game when he scrapes his knee? You might need to think over your actions and take a step back, because these are signs of overparenting. Also Read - 6 things that parents of toddlers should know

Here are 5 signs that might suggest you’re a little too involved in your child’s life. Also Read - Parenting guidelines: Here's how you can support the healthy development of your baby’s brain

Over praising your child

As a parent, it is good to encourage your child to do his or her best. However, too much of anything can be harmful. Over-praising your child for everything he or she does can have a negative impact on the child’s ability to judge good or bad. This behaviour of yours can hinder your child’s development. Also Read - Air pollution caused over 1.16L infant deaths in India last year: Tips to protect your newborn

You find it hard to say no

Rather than letting your child feel disheartened and disappointment, parents these days are indulging their child, and are afraid to say no to them. This habit of not saying no to the kids can lead the them to that mental stage where a simple and genuine ‘no’ will also look unusual to the them and eventually it will become difficult and challenging for the child to be able to survive even a single ‘no’.

Rewarding for everything

As every parent knows, positive reinforcement creates better behaviour. Rewarding your kids for something good that he or she has done is extremely important. But, bribing them with toys to get them to behave in a proper manner or to do something that they should be doing in their daily rituals is equally harmful. By doing so you are helping the child become externally motivated rather than making them internally motivated. If your kids are always looking for what they will get each time they do something, you are probably on the road to over parenting.

You do everything for your child

It’s very tempting to love and adore your children and do everything for them without thinking anything negative. Like for instance, packing his school bags, ironing his clothes, etc. However, doing so can negatively affect his ability to figure out what goes in his school backpack and how best to fit it all in there, especially when you are not around. In a way, you are not allowing your child to become self-dependent. As children get older, let them do things for themselves. This will help them to live their life and make their journey easy.

Their happiness is your only goal

In this competitive and stressful world, we live in, it’s tempting to focus solely on keeping kids happy. However, this habit of yours can rob the kid’s ability to handle bigger emotions when small things like doing their homework gets difficult. When the primary focus is on happiness, it’s tempting to let kids skip out on obligations to teams and groups because it no longer makes them happy or joyful. Even more, it can help the kids become self-absorbed and ignore or even exploit the plight of other people. When the goal is happiness, kids may start to treat the adults in their lives like hired staffs, neglecting to work with them or worse yet, thank them for helping. These developments can be dangerous for the child’s overall mental growth.

Published : October 15, 2020 2:12 pm | Updated:October 16, 2020 9:29 am

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