Leave those kids alone: 'helicopter parenting' linked to behavioural problems

Children with over-controlling parents aged two struggled to manage their emotions later in life, study finds

Children whose parents are over-controlling "helicopter parents" when they are toddlers, are less able to control their emotions and impulses as they get older apparently leading to more problems with school, new research suggests.

The study looked at to what degree mothers of toddlers dominated playtime and showed their child what to do, and then studied how their children behaved over the following eight years, revealing that controlling parenting is linked to a number of problems as a child grows up.