Dr. T.P. Chia once said, “Parental love is the only love that is truly selfless, unconditional and forgiving,” but is there a point where that love and sacrifice goes too far?

Helicopter parenting, also known as hyper-parenting, is defined as being so over-involved in a child’s life that the child’s success and progress can be impeded. Notorious for being overprotective of their children, these people are a huge problem of the twenty-first century. While growing up, children need to learn concepts such as independence and individuality, but with an adult constantly hovering over them, kids lack these, and may never develop them.

According to Psychology Today, there are three kinds of helicopter parents, the first being Reconnaissance (Minimal). These are the parents who discreetly become involved in their child’s education and job life by attending events and constantly offering advice surrounding these things. The parents are the most common of all helicopter parents, and although they aren’t as hostile about the situations, they aren’t exactly reserved about offering their opinions.

The second kind of helicopter parent is known as Low Altitude (Moderate). Unlike the Reconnaissance parents, not only do they attend their child’s events, but they insert themselves into them. They do this by introducing themselves to managers or professors, and even going so far as communicating these people in the future to make sure their child is doing their job/school work correctly.

The last kind of helicopter parent is classified as Guerilla Warfare (Severe). These parents are belligerent as they try doing things like attending job interviews and making excuses for their child’s mistakes. In some cases, the parents may even call a manager or teacher to complain about what they’re doing and even offering ways for them to ‘improve’. These parents lodge themselves in places where they don’t belong, and ultimately cause problems.

Now some may be asking the question, “What’s so bad about this?”

While this kind of interference may seem good in nature, it ends up being the complete opposite, according to therapists. As parents may want what’s best for their child, being a helicopter parent, even unknowingly, can cause the child to develop an extreme annoyance for the parent and even end up resenting them. Consequently, sometimes this parenting can lead to mental health issues.

As reported by Huffpost, several high school students feel pressured by their parents to the point where they feel anxiety and even depression. Since 2013, surveys have shown that feelings of anxiety, depression, and suicide have increased greatly, as well as the desire for mental health services. This data is strongly related to the stress put on children from their parents, showing that there really isn’t a good reason to hover a child’s life.

To conclude, helicopter parents do more harm than good and need to be stopped. The solution to ending them is addressing the problem that they serve and better-educating parents on when to intervene and when to leave the situation alone. Doing this won’t only help children affected, but might even improve society as a whole, as children will slowly integrate into independent and creative beings.