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Post # 1
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Join Date: 22 Jun 2011
Location:  KuwaitPosts: 448 |
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Helicopter Parents - the new category of over-protective parents |
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Keeping an eye on the kids is imperative. But if you are one of those overprotective parents who hang around frantically while their kids are playing, you are probably in the wrong.
According to the findings of a new study, kids who being continuously hovered around by parents restricting their unstructured play are at higher risk of obesity, poor physical health and under developed social skills vis-à -vis counterparts who indulge in free play. Who are Helicopter parents Such pushy parents, branded as “hovering helicopters†by investigators of the study, are gripped by the dreaded feelings of kids’ hurting themselves, thus preventing their children from playing outside. "Hovering helicopter parents who restrict their kids’ unstructured play may actually harm, rather than help,†the researchers wrote in the findings published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Play. Near-extinction of free play To gather the expert opinions on whether free play was vital for kids’ overall development, the American Journal of Play invited a group of experts to investigate "the near-extinction of free play and its effects on children and society." Peter Gray, professor of psychology at Boston College, suggested in his essay ‘The Decline of Play and the Rise of Psychopathology in Children and Adults’ that the decline in outdoor play and a more activity rich playtime exhibited a strong correlation with the increasing cases of depression, stress and feelings of selfishness amogst kids, teens as well as adults. The results are alarming how the hovering parents are reponsible for child's mental development “Remarkably, over the last 50 years, opportunities for children to play freely have declined continuously and dramatically in the United States and other developed nations; and that decline continues, with serious negative consequences for children’s physical, mental, and social development,†Gray was quoted as saying. Moreover, segregating kids into same-age groups is not ideal for child development, Gray noted. While older children “provide scaffolds that raise the level of the younger participants’ play†aiding the younger lot to stretch their abilities to higher levels, the older participants “develop increased capacities to nurture, lead, and learn by teaching†when playing with the younger lot, Gray says. |
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