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Are children of today too coddled and overprotected by their parents?

It is a way to express their love for their children, some parents may argue. Kids are meant to be care and love for. Yes, indeed. But when there is an overdose of such love, dire consequences may results.

Whenever I stepped into the toys section in a departmental store, kids could be seen whining for toys. Frankly, this method is very effective on parents. In the end, parents will end up buying the toys for their children so as to put a stop to such whining. When kids knew that this method is effective in ‘persuading’ their parents to obtain their wants, they will start to use it for the 2nd time, 3rd time… Unintentionally, parents fall into such traps. It has becomes so pervasive that they took little notice of it.

Kids are becoming too pampered because of the little things that occur in the everyday life. Parents can actually stop this phenomenon – not letting children have their way. If this kind of practice sinks into them, what will happen to them when they grow up? If they are not able to get hold of the thing they demanded, will they let their inner desires overwhelm them and resort to treat it lightly.

In this era of overly protective parenting, parents are the ones making decision on behalf of their kids. It is a norm to see parents watching, guarding, defending, and shielding their children, afraid that their kids will come to harm. This kind of parents sought for the best for their child and wants them to grow up in the environment that they had built for them.

Children under such circumstances may grow up to be having low self esteem, shy or rebellious. The former may result when the child are so used to staying in their comfort zone. Once they get out into the real world, they do not know how to handle it. If the parents have been covering up for their child’s mistakes, the child will not be able to handle failure due to lack of experience. This may even result in panic disorders. If they had not been given a chance to interact with people when young, they are most likely to become shy and lack confidence in themselves. The latter will result if children especially adolescent get tired of not being able to go with their friends or go to places because they are too young. Even though in some case the children are old enough and are capable of making good decision on their own.

These possible consequences can be prevented. Parents can let their children practise decision making when they are young. This will build up their sense of responsibility. Children should also be allowed to interact with people from young, equipping them with a sense of confidence. Parents play an important role in the development of their children. Hence, they should be helping their child preparing for the real world challenges and not let them live under an illusion.

posted by Si Hui @ 1:00 PM