Helicopter parenting is considered to be one of the worst styles of parenting. Have a quick look at the characteristics of helicopter parent and its effects on children.While helicopter parenting came up as a term for parents of college going kids it has now spread to become an umbrella term. Today’s stress ridden society and obsessive information flow channels have provoked many parents to embrace one of the most distracting models of parenting i.e.; helicopter parenting. Typically this refers to parents who want to manage and oversee each little detail in their children’s life.Psychiatrists say that children who are victims of helicopter parenting grow up to be psychologically dependant. Check out these warning signs to see whether you are propagating helicopter parenting or not.Obsessively Collaborating With TeachersIt is good to be a conscientious parent who attends every parent teacher meeting but it is bad to be obsessively involved in the academic life of your children. It is very obvious that you would want to let your child excel in all subjects.The problem arises when you want to take all your kids decisions yourself and personally meet up teachers for reasons like an especially tough assignment or slightly lower marks in tests. The point here is to let your kid become assertive enough to talk to the teacher concerned without requiring parental guidance or mediation.Interfering In SquabblesIt is natural for children to fight, quarrel and get into squabbles with other kids. It is true that sometimes these fights get out of hand and kids can seriously hurt each other (or try to) and parental mediation is required. However, such occasions are rare to arrive and most fights amongst children are just a healthy process of growing up.When you find yourself interfering in every single squabble, confrontation or fight that your child gets involved in then it is time for you to understand that you are tilting towards helicopter parenting.Doing Your Children’s HomeworkMany parents stay up late at night finishing their son’s or daughter’s school projects for them and thinking that they are actually helping their kids. The practice of helping your kids in their homework actually defeats the whole purpose of homework as kids will then never learn to do it on their own.If you find yourself solving or completing (or even wanting to) your children’s homework then you are steering yourself towards helicopter parenting. Child education experts say that children should mostly be left alone to do their homework and class projects without their parents trying to help them in various ways.Refusing To Let Kids FailIf you as a parent are completely obsessed with having your child succeed at any cost then there is definitely something wrong. Whether it is a football match or a debate or a quiz or simply a routine school test children may have to taste failure at some point to taste the true value of success.If you find yourself interfering in the normal course of events or trying to manipulate them so that your child succeeds at any cost then you are actually doing your child not a favour. This is again a warning sign of helicopter parenting.Constant PraiseConstantly praising your kid is another big warning sign of child possessiveness and helicopter parenting. While it is good to give positive feedback to children it is also very essential to ensure that kids actually deserve to hear the praise before they are showered with it. Excessive amounts of praise will only develop an inflated ego and harm your kid in the long run.Now that you know all about the warning signs of helicopter parenting you can be doubly cautious to check yourself and stop if you catch yourself doing any of the above acts.What is helicopter parenting? How can parents avoid being helicopter parents? What are the ill effects of helicopter parenting on the development of children? Discuss here.