It can be hard for parents to give their child the freedom to fail in life – but can this harm them in the long run? In this episode, Emiliya offers some wonderful tips on how to let your children struggle well.
What is snowplow or lawnmower parenting?
All of us want our children to be happy, successful and have opportunities but could we be taking away opportunities for growth and resilience?
Snowplow or lawnmower parenting is when moms and dads remove any difficulty from their child’s path – similar to pushing snow off of the road. Some parents adopt this style as they think their child is exceptional and they want to ensure they succeed. The term was first coined by former high school teacher David McCullough in 2015. He wrote a book called You Are Not Special where he explored the importance of letting kids fail.
Lawnmower parents (or bulldozer parents) are easily willing to drop everything to fulfill their child’s wants and demands no matter how small. These parents often have good intentions and are motivated by not wanting their children to experience struggle.
“Help children digest their life experiences. Work with emotions and embrace vulnerability.”
Embrace freedom, autonomy, and self-efficacy, and yes, even failure, to help children to thrive!
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Welcome to Flourishing Fridays (FF), where every Friday we bring you a Positive Psychology-based life hack that will help you to flourish. In these episodes we look at real life application of Positive Psychology, while giving you tips and strategies to put Positive Psychology into use in all areas of your life.