Hyper-parenting has been present in our
society for quite some time; many parents are much too invested in making – not
helping – their children succeed. It can come in the form of pressure to be the
champion of a sport, insistence to be academically driven, or restriction of
free time. Parents can easily be over-controlling and intrusive. Recent studies
have indicated that the trend of pushing children is on the rise.
But what is the root cause of this trend? Some
have postulated that due to the economic downturn and the increasing cost of
college education, parents are treating education as an investment, one they
want to be worth it. What would be the point of sending their child off to a
fancy, expensive college if he didn’t succeed? However, I believe the real
reason behind hyper-parenting is the extreme emphasis in society on the need to
win. The smartest child in the class in celebrated. Winners of sporting
competitions are given trophies. Representing your country at the Olympics and
competing for gold is the highest honour. Winning is everything. This ignores
and devalues so many other important things in life – relationships, happiness,
knowledge, and creativity, just to name a few.
Childhood should be about preparation; the
practice before the proper performance on game day. In their adolescence,
children are immature and still in the process of learning. They are at a stage
in their life where they can be easily molded. They should not be expected to
be the best at anything, since they are still improving, day by day. By growing
in a wide variety of areas, children can properly find out what is best for
them, and what they want to make with
their own lives.
Children need to learn independence. When
they grow up, they will need to know how to think and act for themselves. By
coddling and constricting them, parents are not allowing their children to
flourish and develop this independence. I believe this will be detrimental for
the children later in life, despite their parents’ best intentions. It’s true,
most parents simply want to help their offspring reach their full potential,
but it is of utmost importance to strike the right balance between trying hard,
and trying too hard.
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