CHAPTER 2

Review of Related Literature

Children nowadays can be very sensitive. Once they felt pain, they thought that

they already lose hope. For them, one little pain is equal to thousands of needles. Since there

are many types of parents in the world, the worst parents, as others say, are those

overprotective parents. Overprotective means having a tendency to protect someone, especially

a child, excessively. According to Arabi (2018), since children with overprotective parents

were heavily micromanaged in childhood, the last thing they need is someone else telling them

what to do. Saying they cannot do something becomes more of a challenge than a demand.

Even a perceived attempt at trying to control them can cause someone who had overprotective

parents to feel threatened. Their rebellion in adulthood can come at a cost if they dismiss any

and all advice as an attempt to control them rather than realizing that some advice may actually

work best for their own self-interest. Children who grew up with overprotective parents can

rebels when someone tries to control them since they felt controlled since childhood. They

may become perfectionistic control freaks and mirror the behavior of their parents in an effort

to regain that sense of power over their lives and themselves, with the underlying belief that if

they are perfect, they can finally become their own authority.

They think about what their parents would think of their decisions, even if they

are no longer around to control them.  Even when children of overprotective parents become

adults and become financially independent, they may still hear the critical voices of their
parents when it comes to making decisions. They might wonder if their choice of a boyfriend

is really the choice their mother would approve of, or have doubts about the career they are

pursuing if they know that their father had other plans for them. Additionally, a 2016

study from Florida State University found that helicopter kids are more likely to have health

issues in adulthood. They found that most helicopter kids never learned how to manage

their health because their parents always told them when to go to sleep, when to exercise, and

what to eat (Amy Morin). In this way, they can be indecisive in choosing their choice of life.

According to Bradley (2019), the overprotected child will likely not learn the skills needed to

form their own identity and learn how to solve problems independently. They will not know

how to use critical thinking skills to handle different life situations. Their frustration tolerance

can be low and anxiety can be high. Teenagers with helicopter parents tended to be less open

to new ideas and actions, and were more vulnerable, anxious, dependent, and self-conscious.

According to Schwartz (2018), because these children were never taught the skills

to function independently, and because they may have been held to unattainable or even

“perfectionist” standards, children of helicopter parents can experience anxiety, depression, a

lack of confidence, and low self-esteem. Parents should, of course, do the best they can for

their kids. Impulses to involve ourselves in our children’s’ lives often come from a sense of

duty, and of unconditional love. Parents can harness those desires to give the most we can to

our kids by resisting overprotective parenting, which can lead to poor outcomes in adulthood.

Stieg, C.(2019) sated that overprotective parents signals to kids that they will make all major

life decisions for them, including planning for their future and monitoring their performance.

Over time, kids will feel like everything they do is for their parents, so they lose any personal
motivation to succeed. At the same time, children with overprotective parents often cannot do

anything on their own so they were the top targets of bullies . According to Thorpe, JR (2017),

kids can be awful, as anybody who's ever been bullied knows. And though bullying is never

the fault of the person being bullied, over-protective parents often give their children fewer

of the skills they need to fight back and protect themselves . Studies show that a parent’s

involvement in their child’s education has an impact on their academic performance, more

even than the child’s school. An example of this would be a mother that wishes to stay with

her child in the classroom each day. Long after all of the other parents have left, the mother

sits at the back of the class anticipating any confusion or anxiety that her child may be

experiencing, and perhaps even brings this to the attention of the teacher in case the teacher

was not aware. Another example would be the parents who make weekly or daily

appointments to see their son’s teacher in order to protect him from any risk of academic

failure, or to constantly mediate his friendship conflicts (Romani, P. 2017). Having an

overprotective parent can have a positive effect and negative effect on a child. Overprotective

parents is not the main reason why children fail, it is just one of the factors. It is still their to

choice if they will make a happy and successful life or not.