Helicopter parenting (self-reliance)

Many parents lived a life where they felt insecure, were left alone or weren’t offered much by their parents. So they grew up to become overly protective and overly giving parents that are now spoiling their own kids! Unfortunately, not many kids are able to manage stress nowadays and they are affected by the pressure surrounding them.
This is why building resilience and self-reliance in children is important! A child who can easily face change and adapt to all sorts of situations can handle the future much better than those who simply give up!

Since resilience is our ability to adapt to change, or cope with trauma, adversity, stress e it’s vital that our children learn how to be resilient.

Here is why helicopter parenting is not making this happen.

1. Whenever a child is robbed from making his own decision, they tend to lose the ability to learn how to solve their own problems and even lose confidence in themselves since they don’t really know if they can achieve anything.

Solution! Help empower your child by guiding them towards evaluating risks and taking decisions, and focus on the effort your child puts into growing, to help increase their confidence.

2. We assume that if we overprotect our children they will feel safe and secure. But actually, a healthy connection between a parent and a child means building a sense of security within your home and by supporting their own decisions and even mistakes.

3. Controlling your children’s every move will only result in them losing their motivation. Help your child see that they have control over their decisions – which ultimately gives them control over outcomes. This helps them realise that they can face hardships and still bounce back!

All parents want to protect their children, but overprotecting our children will not build their resilience. So stop jumping in every time your children face an obstacle, and let them try to solve it on their own. All you can do is guide and remind them that you’re there to support them through it all.