Lawn mower parents: Experts warn of parenting style and consequences for children

Created: 06/28/2022, 12:02 p.m

By: Judith Brown

Similar to helicopter parents, lawnmower parents monitor their children.

At the same time, they want to remove obstacles from their path.

Munich – Helicopter parents is probably a common term for most people.

With this style of parenting, overprotective parents constantly circle around their children like helicopters in order to observe, protect or even monitor them.

The so-called lawnmower parents, who belong to the family of helicopter parents, so to speak, go one step further.

They want to protect their children by removing obstacles and clearing the way.

Experts also warn of the consequences for the little ones.

Lawn mower parents: Experts warn of parenting style and consequences for children

So-called lawnmower parents belong to the family of helicopter parents.

They want to protect their children and remove obstacles from their path.

The consequences of this parenting style are fatal.

© Westend61/IMAGO

Educational scientists and experts have been warning of the consequences of parenting by helicopter for a long time.

Albert Wunsch, an educationalist and university lecturer, is of the opinion that children with behavioral disorders and spoiled behavior are being raised these days.

He doesn't think much of the next generation and calls today's children "soggy whiners".

While helicopter parents always revolve around their children, there is another breed of parent who wants to nurture and protect their children while eroding their independence: the lawnmower parents.

Their behavior is often reflected in everyday situations on the playground.

For example, instead of just observing, they intervene without reason in their children's social encounters and resolve conflicts for them.

They "mow" obstacles out of the way, so to speak, in order to protect them from conflicts and failures.

"Instead of preparing their children for challenges, they mow down obstacles so that their children don't even feel them," describes an anonymous teacher of his experiences with students and teachers on the Weareteachers.com website.

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Worse than helicopter parents?

Lawnmower parents want to protect their children from failure

He goes on to point out that so-called lawnmower parents don't raise a happier generation of children if they experience few fights.

On the contrary: “We are creating a generation that has no idea what to do when it actually encounters an obstacle.

A generation that panics or shuts down completely at the mere thought of failure.

A generation for whom failure is so painful that they need coping mechanisms like addiction, blame and internalization to cope.”

In an anonymous blog post, a professor at an American university in Pittsburgh warns that children of lawn mower parents do not develop their own motivation and drive.

They simply follow the path prepared by their parents.

They also find it difficult to make their own decisions.

In addition, they are constantly told that they cannot solve their problems themselves.

Children of lawn mower parents often have problems at school, warns an expert

The first consequences of the lawnmower upbringing style are evident as early as primary school.

For a long-term study published in 2018 by scientists from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of North Carolina and the University of Zurich, 422 children were examined several times over a period of more than eight years.

The researchers conducted tests and observed how hard the mothers tried to control it while playing.

The results showed that children raised by overprotective parents had greater impulse control problems and underperformed at school by age 10.

While most experts agree that parenting by helicopter or lawnmower does more harm than good to children, researchers Dr.

Matthias Doepke, Professor of Economics and Dr.

Fabrizio Zilibotti from Yale University has come to an amazing conclusion with her study: Due to the stricter controls, children of helicopter parents are more successful in life.

This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication.

In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor.

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