Overly protective parents might be leaving a lasting impact on their child's personality, and not in a good way.
The above quote is from this article briefly describing the latest research on so-called helicopter parents.
There is ample research to support that neglectful parenting has negative effects on children's development. As a small example, this training document for Arizona CASA/FCRB volunteers cites insecure attachment, deficits in coping skills, lower self-esteem, poorer impulse control, academic difficulties, language deficits, and less positive peer interactions as correlates of neglectful parenting in infants to school-aged children.
The interesting thing is that research on over-parenting -- what is now being termed helicopter parenting -- shows that its effects on adolescents and young adults may be highly negative as well. Among the correlates of overparenting identified in the above recent study are being dependent, neurotic, less open to new experiences, less autonomous, more vulnerable, anxious, and self-conscious.
While a lack of parenting efforts contributes to a negative outcome for children, it doesn't mean that an excess of them is better. Further research on overparenting should contribute helpful information into achieving a balance that is healthy for both parents and children.
