Helicopter parenting is bad for teens

The goal of all parents should be to eventually one day be relieved of their jobs. Essentially good parenting is being able to raise your child to grow up into either a young man or woman that can function in society independently. It’s okay to hover over your kids during their early adolescence, but by the time they reach high school parents need to let their kids become more independent.

High schoolers should be able to function on their own. This means they need to know how to do all their own homework assignments, cook or purchase all their meals, do their own laundry, and manage their own schedule. As of 2011, one-third of college student’s dropout. This staggeringly high rate can be accredited to the many students who weren’t prepared for the independence college it requires. Many students who apply for college look great on paper, but that doesn’t tell their whole story. The number one thing parents can do for their kids is to stop solving their problems. Whether this is an issue with a teacher, a friend, a class, or assignment. Teens need to learn to grapple with the issues in their life. Even if this means letting them fail. In most cases failure comes with growth. If kids don’t learn to advocate for themselves, they will fail in resolving any issue or conflict on their own. Another issue with helicopter parents is that they can cause high anxiety for their kids in challenging situations. A 2010 study by phycology professor Neil Montgomery of Keene State showed that college freshman with helicopter parents were less open to new ideas or actions and more vulnerable to being anxious or depressed.

When parents try to set up a kid’s life for them while expecting that they cohere to their demands by keeping up with the academics necessary to reach those goals, kids miss on gaining necessary life skills beyond getting a good GPA or ACT score. When these life skills are absent college students struggle to deal with their own conflicts in daily life.
In conclusion, there needs to be a balance between independent decision making and receiving help or guidance from parents. If there isn’t then kids will go off to college and experience a real shock when they have nobody to hold their hand through life issues.