The Abuse of Overparenting

Psychology Today has a great article about how overparenting can be downright abusive sometimes. It is an article I recommend reading:

As parents, we all have that innate desire to protect and provide for our kids. Yet, at some point we must ask ourselves, are we doing too much for them? When do our actions cross the line from offering security and support to embarrassing them in front of their entire basketball team? The mis-attunement in this particular mother's actions was clear in everything from her lack of pause to the odd choice of items she brought to soothe her son, whose minor injury doubtfully rendered him either thirsty or cold. However, we are all guilty of mild and extreme acts of over-protectiveness and over-parenting that can be very damaging to a developing child.

I tend to overparent from time to time. My aim is to let my children learn from their own experiences by exploring the world, but sometimes I get caught up in my own selfish agenda. This is something that I, and I think every parent, can do well to keep an eye on and constantly evaluate how we are doing.

Comments

Tsunami Warning for Lincoln Nebraska

Tsunami Dawkins Augustine was born at 13:05 on September 26, 2011 at Bryan Hospital in Lincoln, NE. He weighed 8 lbs 5 ounces and measured 20 inches. Mother and baby are doing great!

Kid on a Leash

Has anyone seen these kid leash products around? Sometimes I see them at the zoo, farmers market, or other crowded areas. If a company can make a product that will make a parent feel a little bit safer, there will always be people out there to buy it. When I see one, it reminds me of that scene in Rise of the Planet of the Apes when a leashed Caesar sees a dog on a leash and turns to Will and signs, "Am I a pet?" The idea of the product is that it will keep the child safe and nearby. It is designed to subside the fear that a child will run off or get abducted. I think that if someone is out to abduct a child during the few seconds when a parent is looking away, a leash is a very small deterrent, and likely, not effective. All the abductor would need is a nice pair of scissors or simply their fingers. The latch cannot be that hard to work. If anything, having a leash might give a parent a false sense of security causing them to pay less attention to the child. In that case it

Uninvited Touching

Imagine a scenario where you are sitting in a public place where there are a lot of strangers around, such as a restaurant. You are minding your own business when one of these complete strangers comes out of seemingly nowhere and starts telling you about how cute you are, touching you, pinching your cheeks, and running their fingers through your hair. Or maybe they even start rubbing your belly. Perhaps after that, they start making assumptions about which sexual organs you have. Does this not seem like off putting and even rude behavior? Well, some people seem to think that doing these things to infant children and pregnant mothers is perfectly socially acceptable. I can understand friends and family wanting to touch a baby and most of them have the common courtesy to ask first and get some sort of non-verbal cue from the child, such as a smile or a warm look, that it is okay. But a complete stranger in a random restaurant? I was caught off guard when a fellow restaurant patron did

Kirk blAug

Search This Blog