If we are not pending, because they will not have limits; If we are very above, because we do not let them breathe ... How to do it right? That is, is there a way to do it right? The fact is that I don't think there is a unique answer and maybe we have to find our own balance, our best way to function as parents, as a family.
The so-called "hyper-parenting" or "hyperpaternity" could be defined as excessive attention to children, to its development and its way of relating to the environment, with people ..., even directing those processes in excess. In short, they are fathers and mothers very involved in the lives of children, at all levels (academic, sports, social ...). Within that way of exercising motherhood and fatherhood, there are different styles.
Well, according to one study, this way of raising children can increase the risk of lack of physical activity in them. There are several parenting styles that can become "hyperimplicated" (although it seems to me too artificial to make total and watertight distinctions) that favor children to decrease their physical activity.
The study, titled "The hypercriance of children is negatively associated with physical activity between 7-12 years of age", has been prepared by researchers at Queen's University, in Ontario. It surveyed 724 parents of children between those ages, born in the United States and Canada from 2002 to 2007.
Specifically, the children of these families, according to research data, spend less time outdoors, do less sport after school, were less likely to ride a bike or walk to school, to friends' houses , to parks and playgrounds that children with less involved parents.
That is, it seems that we want to do our best (in fact, in some aspects I think it will be, since more time is spent and more attention is given to them) but perfection does not exist and it seems that one of the disadvantages of Being so aware of the children is that their health can be affected in some way.
But perhaps that is not the worst consequence of some of the parenting styles analyzed ... For example, parenting with attachment or democratic paternity was not analyzed (despite, I insist, that the labels are not so clear); It would have been interesting to know them better. In any case, below we explain the styles collected in the study.
Parenting styles and physical activity
The questionnaires evaluated four styles of parenting, which I literally translate from English since some are not extended in our language.
"Hyper-helicopters" or overprotective parents are those who rarely leave their children out of sight with the intention of keeping their childhood out of danger. They "fly over" continuously above the children, controlling the situation.
"Little emperor fathers", who fill their children with material goods, treating them like kings (or emperors). Children who are not lacking anything (but they probably get too much).
The "Tiger Mothers", which push their children to exceptional achievement. A term popularized in the controversial work of Amy Chua "Battle Anthem of the Tiger Mother". An authoritarian model that turns very high expectations on children, especially in terms of academic results.
"Concerted cultivation", a way of parenting in which parents schedule an excessive number of extracurricular activities, seeking to occupy all the time of the child and that it is "cultivated" in the most varied subjects.
All these types of parents could be more or less aware of their children (although, by the style of each one, we see that they will rather be quite above them; in fact, only 6% scored low in the "hyper parenting") . The study classified "hyper-reliance" or "hyperpaternity" into five categories from least to greatest.
The results showed that the most active children had lower than average scores in all four styles, while the less active had parents with high "hyperpaternity". The difference between children at both ends could be the equivalent of about 20 sessions of physical activity a week.
Of the four styles evaluated, only the "helicopter style" saw no difference in terms of physical activities of children, such as playing outdoors, actively moving or organized sport. But this may be due to the fact that most parents gave a fairly high score on the "hyperparentality" scale.
Instead, the "Little Emperor", the "Mother Tiger" and the "Concerted Cultivation" were associated with minor physical activity in children. Of course, it is easier to find differences if there are children much more "controlled" than others.
My reflections on study and parental styles
Some questions that arise about this study are, how did parents classify them in these different backgrounds? Is there a type test to place them in each style? Can't it be that some parents fall into several trends? What happens to couples who act differently? Couldn't one counteract the "effects" of the other? Or is it about families that "act in block"? To admit that you are "Mother Tiger" or of a "Little Emperor" is so easy?
I worry that there are certain styles like "the tiger" and in this case, as I have pointed out, the least important is whether the child does more or less sports. Unfortunately, there may be worse consequences, what happens is that they have not yet been studied (as if studies were needed for certain things!). The same can be said of raising overprotected or spoiled children full of gifts, issues that we have addressed on other occasions.
On the other hand, it seems that several concepts are mixed in the study (and this is a consequence of the fact that reality cannot be divided into watertight compartments, nor in paternity models). Excessive attention to children, "hyper-reliance", for example, could be given to permissive parents? Can parents "little emperor" be permissive? Can parents with attachment be controlling? Can some "helicopter parents" be involved?
It seems that the four models defined in the study tend to demand, overprotection and control of children. In this sense, it is significant that almost in all there is a decrease in the physical activity of children the greater the involvement of parents.
We look forward to new studies on the relationship of parenting style and child exerciseIt is actually an interesting topic (although there are so many loose fringes). But there are many interesting consequences for analyzing and discovering those particular ways of educating children. And hopefully they knew each other more thoroughly to, perhaps, improve the upbringing of many children respecting them as people and attending to their happiness and integral development.
