The Overprotected Kid Essay

What has happened to the world around us? How have we let our children become so sheltered that they have no knowledge of how to act or think for themselves? Could our overbearing presence be suffocating our children ability to grow? Most all of parents want the best for their children. Their happiness, safety, and learning are some of the top priorities for a parent. There is only one problem with a parent hovering over their children twenty-four seven. Just like if you smother a fire, if you smother your child either the child will not continue to grow, or their personalities could be “smothered out,” just like what happens to a fire when you smother it. Go back a few years and you’ll see that most parents didn’t hover over their children.

In her article, The Overprotected Kid, Rosin hits on many key points that gives us more or less, a chronological time line of when parents began to be overprotected. Kids were able to go and do as the pleased during the 70’s. But due to the rare occurrences of child abductions and the occasional deathly injuries, parents have become more protective and watchful of their children. As the years passed by, each generation of new parents drew nearer to their children until it came to the point that almost no child could be found without an adult nearby. While adult supervision may appear harmless, studies have shown that overprotecting has negative effects on children. While their children may physically be safe, kids have now become “soft.” Children have lost the ability to think and act for themselves which has caused an identity crisis in the newest generations. Rosin states, “They spend a lot of time in the company of adults, so they can talk and think like them, but they never build up the confidence to be truly independent and self-reliant.”(Rosin) The question is then brought up again, is overprotecting our children harming