“But this is part of the reason we hired her!” Megan’s husband tried to reason with her as she argued against allowing their nanny to pick their son up from school. Megan understood but still couldn’t shake her fear of allowing someone to drive in a car with both of her kids. So she took a break from work to pack up the baby and pick up her son from preschool. If this type of “I know, but I can’t let go of the need to step in” feeling is familiar to you, you might be an overprotective parent, too!
In this episode, Megan, Susan, Chloe, and Abby talk about how you know if you’re being overprotective or just looking out for your kids like a wise parent does. Most of us can’t say we had overprotective parents ourselves, but it seems that the internet, social media, and easy access to news has heightened our sense of danger. But being an overprotective parent is more than just keeping our kids safe from threats like kidnapping. We overprotect when we warn them not to climb a tree, make them grab an extra jacket when they’re going outside to play, or don’t let them try a spicy food because we think it’ll be too hot for them. Many times, our overprotection is robbing our kids of the chance to experience natural consequences that have pretty low risks.
We can also be guilty of overprotecting our kids emotionally. It’s hard to send your child off to the tryouts for the school musical knowing she can’t sing. But protecting kids from unpleasant feelings isn’t helpful because those are in their future no matter how much Bubble Wrap we put around their hearts. Today’s episode will help you recognize if you’re parenting out of fear and give you tools to overcome the need to be overprotective.
Articles We Mentioned
3 Ways to Walk the Line Between Protective and Overprotective
4 Reasons to Take the Bubble Wrap off Your Child
3 Ways Parents Today Are Overprotective
5 Signs You’re Parenting out of Fear
Overprotective Parents: Signs, Examples, and Impact on Mental Health
Quit Telling Your Child to Be Careful!
Is it harder for you to watch your kids take physical risks or emotional ones?
