Summary
In this episode I talk about a term I heard last week called "lawnmower parenting" and what that means and how we can change some of things we might be doing. Many of us are guilty of this "mowing down of obstacles" for our kids and I realize we are coming from a place of love and caring. However, helping our children by doing so much work FOR them, is hurting them in the long run. Children NEED to learn to work through the entire process and whether they succeed or fail, it's all part of learning. There are many examples of parenting overstepping what they should be doing FOR their young adult children and it's become an epidemic and a problem.
Ultimately, parents need to let go and empower kids to problem solve and work through the process on their own. They also need to take on some responsibility outside of their own world thru a job, volunteering, or service of some type so they can see how what they do affects others. Lastly, we as parents, need to be accountable enforcing consequences with our kids when they don't follow through or when they fail to do what they were supposed to do. While this can be really challenging, it does work!
I hope this didn't seem too much like a soapbox issue but I do think the topic is valid and necessary to address.