A rapidly growing trend of "overparenting" risks creating a mollycoddled generation unfit to face the challenges of adult life, research has found.
The study titled Can a parent do too much for their child?, published in the Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, surveyed 128 professionals across Australia, the majority school counsellors or school psychologists.
Just 8 per cent had never experienced overparented children, while 27 per cent had seen "many" instances of overparenting.
Examples of paranoid parenting included:
* Parents cutting up a 10-year-old's food.
* Parents who believed their 16-year-old did not know what sex was.
* A mother who wouldn't let her 17-year-old son catch the train to school.
* A 16-year-old student whose mother made him go to bed at 9pm.
There were also examples of "helicopter parenting" - where parents "hover" around their child to ensure they are not "burdened" with mundane tasks.
One respondent reported this was a major issue during a school camp for Year 5 and 6 students, as some had never learnt to dress themselves.
Examples of "lawnmower parenting", where parents attempt to "mow down obstacles" in the way of a child's success, were also cited, including a mother who confronted the parent of another student because her daughter was not invited to a party.
Queensland University of Technology PhD researcher and clinical psychologist Judith Locke, the lead researcher on the study, said overparenting was not deliberate but the result of fear.
"A lot of the parenting advice hypes-up parents. So if you're already praising your child and read that you should be praising your child, should you then be praising them more?" she asked.
The findings suggested the consequence would be a child with a lack of independence and resourcefulness.
"I don't think parents ever think their kids are ready for anything ... it takes somewhat of a leap of faith and understandably that can be very traumatic and understandably some parents elect not let them go on to the next stage," she said.
"(But) the parent that inadvertently is trying to give their child a great life, if they've not allowed their child to face those difficulties, the experts are suggesting that lack of resilience really has a huge impact on them for the future."
Dr Karen Brooks, an associate professor at the UQ Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, said there had been a shift in the last 10 to 15 years towards that style of parenting.
"That's where this has become normalised. The saddest thing about it is you're not equipping the child for adulthood ... one of things kids need to do is take healthy risks and be encouraged to take those steps away from mum and dad," she said.
"What parents need to sometimes think about is, is your child going to be a housemate someone wants to live with? Or are they going to be a desirable partner? And when you overparent the answer is no."
By Rob Kidd
Source: The Daily Telegraph - http://goo.gl/CHaC7
