Are you a “bulldozer” parent?
Updated | By Etienne Bruwer
So, you’ve heard of a helicopter parent, but have you heard of a bulldozer parent?
Most parents always want the best for their children, but only wanting the best for your child could possibly lead to different problems.
A recent term, Bulldozer parent, refers to a parent who bulldozes all obstacles out of their children's way.
Whenever a child faces an obstacle in life, these parents tend to remove that obstacle or help their child.
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Although assisting your child during difficulties is important, you cannot always remove or resolve those difficulties for them.
In a recent report, child psychotherapist Tanja Witte-Heimböckel explained how parents can support their children without suffocating them.
"Parents only want good things and want to help their child, but that often leads to many problems later on. If children don't learn how to deal with difficult or unpleasant situations, or experience failures, they will never learn to cope with stress or try alternative strategies independently and learn from them," Witte-Heimböckel said.
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"Children need to learn that they can lose, wait for things, and endure situations that don't always go smoothly. Otherwise, they lack psychological stability and the necessary preparation for real life. And that's despite the parents' good intentions. But then the children have never learned to solve things on their own and derive a sense of achievement from it."
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