Is their lunch packed? Did they get help with their homework? They didn't go to the park alone, right? They didn't talk to any strangers? Mission accomplished, those children are safe. So far, they have been protected from anything remotely harmful. Yet research shows that this “overprotective parenting” is hurting children more than it helps. Overprotective parenting has negative effects on children because it dulls creativity and leaves kids emotionally unprepared for adult life.

By hovering over children and not letting them outside of their parents’ sight, they can't properly develop creativity. University of Pennsylvania sociologist Annette Lareau says that children need “accomplishment of natural growth” (Hanna Rosin, The Overprotected Kid, Theatlantic). This “natural growth” is described by letting children go off one their own, so they have opportunities to expand their imagination and opinions. If a child is sheltered in their parent's protective bubble, they won't be able to think for themselves or form their own ideas about the world. This problem can then cross over into academic settings, and lead to issues such as a lack of curiosity and outgoingness, traits that are highly beneficial in the classroom. Research from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, conducted by Kyung-Hee Kim, an educational psychologist at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, shows that the scores of American children have consistently lowered over the course of the last decade (Hanna Rosin, The Overprotected Kid, Theatlantic). Kim also notes that the most prevalent drop was in the category of  “elaboration”, or the skill to take an idea or thought and provide analysis on it in a high level way. This proves that without individual time to creatively grow, children won't have the skill of thinking on their own or having creative opinions and thoughts. In spite of this evidence, many parents still believe that their child’s creative development is not influenced by their sheltered style of parenting. They think that children can still learn to be creative and expressive whilst being under the careful watch of parents. However, if children are “protected” to such an extent that they are not exposed to situations in which they must think for themselves and find solutions, it can be detrimental to not only their creative development, but their emotional development.
   
Overprotective parenting can leave a child emotionally unprepared for life as an adult. Children won't know how to function on their own if everything is handed to them on a silver platter. When they are in college or have a job, no parents will be around to tie their shoelaces or give them a hug when they feel sad. In the words of pediatric psychologist David Elkind, a professor at Tufts University, "We learn through experience and we learn through bad experiences. Through failure we learn how to cope" (Hara Estroff Marano,      A Nation Of Wimps, Psychologytoday). Lack of exposure to such circumstances can lead to issues such as insecurity and self-doubt. Children may become fearful of situations they haven't been exposed to, causing them to doubt their ability to handle such situations. They won't build up the confidence to be independent and self-reliant; skills needed to live as an adult. In 1972, Roger Hart, now the Professor of Psychology and Geography at the City University of New York, created a project that mapped the whereabouts of 86 elementary aged children over the course of two years. He found that the children had been given a tremendous amount of freedom and trust. Smiling, they would roam far from their homes without any adults around. The children were also very comfortable while showing Hart the forts and play areas they had created, places their parents had never even seen. In 2004, Hart conducted a follow-up study in the same town with the next generation of children. He found that the children were much more restricted; they were almost never aloud to be out of their parents sight, and several children were self-conscious and nervous when talking to Hart (Hanna Rosin, The Overprotected Kid, Theatlantic). His research shows that over the past few decades, children have become less confident and less self-reliant, thus leaving them unprepared for future problems they have yet to face. Contrary to this, many still believe that a parent who doesn't always help is a bad parent. They think that this parenting will help guide their child to adulthood, and that by being with them every step of the way, they will help prepare their children for a successful life. But, according to Hart’s research, it actually has the opposite effect. Setting children up for an easy life will only prepare them for easy obstacles, not the tough decisions and problems they will be confronted with as an adult.

Another problem caused by overprotective parenting is a lack of social skills. When a child is encountered with a difficult social issue, many parents will quickly diffuse the situation and solve the problem. The children will continue playing, their memories of the argument forgotten. The problem at hand is solved, but not the problems in the future that resulted from it. Without experience in difficult situations with other people, a child won't know how to resolve friendship or relationship conflicts. If a parent stepped in every time their child got in an argument with their friends, how is that child going to react when they are arguing with their boss? They won't be prepared. An effect of not engaging in different social situations is social anxiety. The Anxiety Support Network says, “One very obvious cause of social anxiety and other anxiety disorders is parents who are overprotective and overcontrolling of their children's lives. Overprotection stunts a person's growth as a person and does not allow him or her to successfully deal with fear” (Dan Stelter, Causes of Anxiety: Overprotective and Controlling Parents, Anxietysupportnetwork.com). In other words, children who aren't familiar interacting with others won't know how to respond to them, thus making the children feel uncomfortable. This could lead them to avoiding participation in social events for fear of confronting difficult issues. Another result of lack of social skills is narcissism and entitlement. A child may become presumptuous because, throughout life, everything has been easy for them. Children who are always celebrated become entitled teenagers. Teenagers who expect their parents to solve their problems turn into college students that expect professors to remove their obstacles (Abilash Gopal, Helicopter Parenting Has Given Birth To A Generation of Entitled Victims, Huffingtonpost.com). They can easily become frustrated that things aren't as simple as they used to be. This can lead to other issues such as a lack of empathy and depression. However, some believe that by modeling appropriate social behavior, their children won't need experience with solving social problems. But without letting children figure these situations out on their own, they won't know first hand how to fix the problem.

Before every sharp corner is covered and every play date is supervised, remember that children need to fail. They need to be knocked down so they know how to get back up. Because in the long run, parents aren't going to be there to coach their child through college or feed them a home cooked meal while they console them about the job they didn't get. So let them be disappointed. Sad. Angry. Confused. It may not seem like it, but children can handle it. They will grow up, learn from their mistakes, and become a strong, independent individual.