Mom… you need to 'Chill-ax'.

(For those of you over thirty 'Chill-ax' means to be cool and relax . Something we are going to have to do as parents if we really want our kids to succeed.)

Are we putting so much pressure on our kids to succeed that it's bound to blow up in our face?

I know we all mean well but the pressure that we are putting on our kids these days is getting so intense it is taking its toll on their lives.

Many children are growing up, never feeling quite adequate or up to our standards. It's causing depression, stress and a lack of self-confidence in our children. Exactly the opposite to what we are trying to create in our kids.

There is even a  term for this style of parenting;  'helicopter parenting' which comes from the constant hovering over everything our child does.  An excellent article worth the read on this subject is called "How pushy parent syndrome can leave you depressed".

Here's a quote from the article that particularly hit home with me:

"The most dangerous feelings a child can have are of self-hatred, yet middle-class parents are unwittingly instilling those feelings by expecting so much,' she said. The 'helicopter' parent insists on meddling in every area of their child's life, for example by going into school to challenge a teacher about a mark their child has received.

But they are actually hampering their children's development by denying them opportunities to deal with difficult situations.

'Kids aren't having the experiences that are mandatory for healthy child development – a period of time to be left alone, to figure out who you are, to experiment with different things, to fail, and to develop a repertoire of responses to challenge,' Dr Levine said. "

How do you feel about this hovering trend? Are you a helicopter parent?