Are You an Overprotective Parent? Here’s a Checklist!

Parenting is indeed an art. However, in pursuance of mastering this skill, many parents sometimes overstep their thresholds. The after-effects, or rather say the reactions of these actions, might not be immediate, but they do fall upon their kids sooner or later. For instance, it has been seen that children with overprotective parents have nil coping abilities and satisfaction degrees but greater anxiety, stress, and depression.

So today, in this article below, we, at Gurukul The School, one of the best schools in Ghaziabad, would like to shed light on some of such pointers, which will help you understand if you are overstepping your parental boundaries, even if it is happening unknowingly. Read on and check if you fall in this category by any chance.

• Frequent check-ins

When a parent feels a continual urge to check up on his child every hour, that’s definitely a sign of being over-protective, i.e., constantly inquiring from your child if he is okay or if there is a need for anything or anything that you can execute/figure out for him. Here, the key to being the ideal parent is understanding the thin line between being a doting and an over-doting parent.

• Reckoning the child as unripe and vulnerable

For any parent, a child always remains a child, irrespective of his age/IQ. However, certain parents take the statement way too seriously. They (want to) remain under the impression that their kids have just not grown up physically/psychologically. And hence are yet not ready to take up any sort of difficulty or challenge head-on. Believing this, they constantly hover over their kids’ lives, displaying an over-protective parent attitude.

• Overseeing friendships

Overprotective parents oversee even the most natural and simple things like their kids’ friendships. They want to decide who will be their children’s friends, their playtime together, the location of their playdates, and every detail regarding the duration they are going to spend with a particular friend or a group of buddies.

• Anything new/different/alone is a no-no!

Kids trying a new hobby or activity on their own and as per their own liking is something an overprotective parent doesn’t approve of. They want to decide if any extracurricular activity, sport, or hobby is to be taken up or not, and if yes, then which one. As such, it is their own preference and liking that they give consideration to, rather than the children’s, in the wake of protecting them.

• Over-consoling

When the children of those parents who follow the rule of over-protection in their parenting journey ‘fall or fail,’ they get an overdose of reassurances, comfort, and soothing from such parents every time.

• Kids are not introduced to the concept of accountability

Everyone is cognizant of an essential trait that should surely be taught to the kids, and that is ‘accountability,’ or being responsible for their actions. And this very trait is just not given any heed if the parents are over-protective. They can go to any limit if their kids are told to stand up for what they did or take responsibility for any mishappenings. They save their kids from punishments arising out of such situations and, rather themselves, are ready to face repercussions if any.

• Over-power schoolwork

Overprotective parents do not even spare their children’s schoolwork and control their academics as well. They have to have the knowledge about the latest syllabus being covered in the classroom. They keep the contact numbers of their kids’ class teachers on speed dial. They expect that they must be made aware of any development/ change taking place at the classroom/academic level in the very first place.

In a nutshell, we, Gurukul The School, positioned among the best schools in Ghaziabad, would like to request the parents that you can certainly go ahead with putting limitations, but kindly do not forget to allow some margin for flexibility. Yes, we understand that as parents, it is your natural instinct to be protective of your little ones. But you need to know the fine line between where to stand strong with them and where to let them be. After all, ultimately, it is the chances you provide to your kids to communicate well with the external world now that’s going to determine their personal capabilities, resilience, and social behavior in the future. Isn’t it!