Helicopter parenting, in its most extreme form, could be considered a type of abuse and can badly influence your child’s future. The long-term repercussions can follow them into adolescence and adulthood.
The impact helicopter parenting can have on children is significant, and these children are often forced into “self-improvement habits” such as tutoring, obsession with grades, or even multiple competitive sports. These habits can be hard to break when you, the child of helicopter parents, become a parent yourself.
When co-parenting with an ex-spouse who refuses to move beyond previous strife and is seemingly unwilling to cooperate, it’s crucial to remember this helpful mantra: you can’t change anybody but yourself.
Setting firm boundaries when co-parenting with a narcissist can be done by having a detailed custody agreement, ensuring that conversation is kept to the bare minimum by using the grey rock method, and not allowing the other parent to bulldoze and manipulate the child.
Teachers need to deal with helicopter parents by providing space for them to air their anxieties. But this space must have set boundaries where the teacher knows they can give the parents time in order to listen and, when necessary, redirect the parent’s energy and anxiety.
Helicopter parents are overly active in their children’s lives. They tend to hover over their kids, being overprotective and paying close attention to everything they do. Lawnmower parents go out of their way to take down any possible obstacles to smooth a path, so their children never endure discomfort or hardships.
Culture affects parenting styles through the emphasis placed on honor, the community’s norms and beliefs, socially accepted methods of discipline, the community’s role in childrearing, the roles of mothers vs. fathers, and the roles of sons vs. daughters; each of these factors may/will vary across cultures.
Positive parenting encourages personal development by strengthening emotional bonds between parent and child. It has been shown that children with a healthy emotional bond have higher self-esteem, better grades, and stronger friendships. Overall, they are more well-rounded as individuals.
The Grey Rock method requires strictly unemotional communication and limiting interaction only to necessary communication about your child. It means responding in a bland, uninteresting way that will prompt a manipulative or narcissistic person to lose interest in making your life difficult.
Some fathers feel trapped by fatherhood. Multiple factors can lead to this feeling, including; loss of freedom, the endless responsibility of raising a child, parental burnout, and depression. Seeking support and certain lifestyle changes can alleviate this feeling.
