The Psychological Effects of Strict & Overprotective Parents

Overprotective parents, according to child/teen development specialist Dr. Robyn Silverman, have become so common that some overnight youth camps have hired full-time liaisons to deal with calls from parents about everything from their child̵7;s vitamin schedule to music lessons. Strict parenting, which is related to the authoritarian style of parenting, might be best epitomized by the ̶0;tiger mom̶1; concept of Yale professor Amy Chua.

  1. Helicopter Parents

    • Overprotective parents may act that way for a variety of reasons. Silverman says they may see the world as more dangerous than when they were young, don̵7;t want their children to fail or want to live vicariously through their children by being a ̶0;helicopter parent.̶1; Research on the effects of helicopter parenting is mixed, according to Silverman. Studies on college-age kids show children of helicopter parents were more satisfied with their college experience. However, other studies show children of overprotective parents may be less confident and unable to solve their own problems.

    Anxiety

    • Parenting style may make some children more anxious, according to a Psychology Today article reviewed in May 2009. Children born with a tendency to become over-excited when stimulated need to have limits imposed by their parents while they are still very young. Overprotective parenting, according to the article, increases the chance that the child will develop problems such as panic disorders. By preventing the child from dealing with stress, the overprotective parent removes the opportunity for the child to learn to manage stressful emotions such as fear or anxiety.

    Strict Parenting

    • Strict parents are also called authoritarian parents. Dr. Laura Markham, a clinical psychologist, says these parents set high expectations but are very controlling, which tends to incite the child to rebel. They are less likely to provide support, warmth or affection. Markham says strict parenting creates behavior problems rather than solving them. Children of strict parents don̵7;t learn self-discipline or responsibility because their parents make all the decisions. They are more likely to be angry and depressed and they learn that power is always right, which increases the risk that they may become bullies.

    Tiger Moms

    • The ̶0;tiger mom̶1; style of parenting, which includes strict rules, blunt criticism and an expectation of academic perfection, may cause depression, stress and low self-esteem, according to a January 2012 article at Live Science. When Chinese-American children raised with strict parenting techniques were compared to European-American children at the same high school, the Chinese-American teens reported high levels of family conflict and poor mental health. All of the Chinese-American children had immigrant parents, which may have been a factor in parenting style -- the article notes strict parenting is common among Chinese immigrant parents.

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