Snowplow Parenting: Signs, Impacts & How to Avoid
Parenting refers to raising and nurturing children from childhood to adulthood. This process involves providing the children with psychological, emotional, and physical support so they grow to become responsible individuals.
However, some parents make the mistake of being overbearing and excessively demanding when training their children. In this article, you will learn what snowplow parenting means, the signs, and how to deal with it.
What does snowplow parenting mean?
Snowplow parenting is a parenting style characterized by being over-involved in a child’s life. They will go to extreme lengths to remove obstacles in their child’s life.
This is similar to using a lawnmower snow plow to create a path through snow. Snowplow parenting involves being active in their child’s daily life, ranging from academics to social life.
Read this article by Terrence Sanvictores and Magda D Mendez to learn more about the types of parenting styles and their effects on children.
9 signs of snowplow parenting
When snowplow parenting is in play, the parents are overly involved in their child’s life. Here are some of the signs of snowplow parenting.
1. Overprotection
Snowplow parents tend to be too protective of their children. When they see any potential challenge or discomfort, they remove it from the way. Such parents prefer solving problems for their children instead of letting them face them.
To find out more about how overprotection affects a child, watch this video:
2. Regular intervention
Another sign of snowplow parenting is when the parents constantly intervene in their children’s daily activities. This includes helping with school work, social life, online social media presence, etc. They will regularly monitor what their children are doing, even to the point of managing their schedule.
3. Prevent them from failing
You can identify snowplow parenting when parents do not want their children to fail. Most parents will go to great lengths to ensure their children do not experience disappointment or failure.
4. Lack of initiative
Snowplow parents are fond of preventing their children from taking the initiative. According to snowplow parenting meaning, children are prevented from making decisions without any external influence or intervention. They prefer to help their children make every decision in their lives.
5. Micro-management
One of the ways to understand the question of what is snowplow parenting, you can tell from how they control their children’s lives. They will manage every aspect of their lives, giving their children no room to make their own decisions.
6. Inability to cope
Children with snowplow parents will find it difficult to cope with stress or other factors. This is because their parents have not allowed them to develop problem-solving skills and resilience. Therefore, they will keep depending on their parents to solve their issues.
7. Reduced social skills
When children have a snowplow mom or dad, it will be challenging for them to develop good social skills. They will have been restricted from engaging in social situations because their parents were always in the picture. Moreover, they will struggle to make social connections without their parents’ help.
8. High standards
From the snow plow definition, most parents hold their children to high standards, and they are sometimes unrealistic. Such parents push their children to do things beyond their capacity and interests. When the children don’t meet expectations, it could become a problem for them.
9. Lack of autonomy
In snowplow parenting, children are often not allowed to be independent. They will not be able to think for or be self-sufficient in themselves. This is because their parents have managed their lives.
Evident impact of snowplow parenting
One of the effects of snowplow parenting is that the child will find it hard to be independent. They will rely on their parents for every decision and become mostly stranded when their parents are unavailable.
Another way to tell if a snow plow fails is their communication skills. A child with snowplow parents may have poor communication skills because they cannot express their feelings and thoughts.
How to avoid becoming a snowplow parent: 11 helpful ways
To avoid becoming a snowplow parent means that you want to strike a balance between raising your children and giving them a sense of independence and freedom. Here are some ways to avoid being a snowplow parent
1. Evaluate your parenting style
You can avoid becoming a snowplow parent when you assess your parenting style. Communicate with your child to find out if you are overbearing or not allowing them to be free with their lives.
2. Avoid setting unrealistic expectations
Another way to avoid snowplow parenting is not to set unrealistic expectations. Understand your children’s skills and abilities, and set expectations while considering their strengths and weaknesses.
3. Support independence
You can motivate your children to make decisions without influencing them. Ensure that those choices are age-appropriate so that they can grow to be individuals who can think for themselves.
4. Teach problem-solving skills
Concerning the question of how to snowplow, you can avoid this by teaching your children problem-solving skills. Instead of solving all the problems for your child, you can guide them to find solutions to some of their problems.
5. Teach resilience
When your children suffer setbacks, ensure you teach them how to recover. Knowing how to handle resilience will make them understand that disappointments, setbacks, and challenges are part of life.
6. Provide growth opportunities
Don’t always restrict your child from trying out new things. When there is an opportunity for them to get better at something, give them the chance to explore it.
7. Listen actively
You can prevent snowplow parenting by listening actively to them. Ensure you are empathetic to their needs. Respect their opinions and offer guidance when needed.
8. Celebrate their efforts
When your child tries to do something, applaud them for it whether they succeed or not. Encouraging your child to put in effort ensures they are not afraid of trying out anything.
9. Teach them that failure is not bad
If your child fails at something, don’t add to their woes. Make them realize that there are some things we will succeed and fail at in life. Encourage them to try again and not give up.
10. Respect their boundaries
To prevent snowplow parenting, it is important to respect their boundaries. Avoid being in their space each time. Acknowledge their feelings, ask for permission, respect their privacy, support some of their choices, etc.
11. Offer guidance and support
Ensure your children can look up to you for guidance and support without you taking over. Provide them with assistance and empower them to handle things based on their capacity.
FAQs
Now that we have discussed almost all the major aspects of snowplow parenting, let’s delve into some additional questions commonly raised about the topic.
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Why is snowplow parenting a good thing?
Snowplow parenting is not regarded as a good thing, even if it is done unintentionally by parents. This is because it describes a situation where parents are overprotective and overly controlling.
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What is the difference between a helicopter and a snowplow parent?
Helicopter parents are actively involved in every aspect of their children’s lives, as they constantly monitor them. While snowplow parents eliminate challenges and obstacles in their child’s path so they don’t experience failure.
Want to learn more about helicopter parenting? In this study by Saranya Jeepalyam and other brilliant authors, you will find more insights on helicopter parenting.
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Does snowplow parenting negatively affect children in the long run?
Snowplow parenting can be harmful to children in the long run, as it can prevent them from developing problem-solving skills, resilience, independence, etc.
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How to shift from a snowplow parenting approach to a balanced one?
You can apply a more balanced approach by encouraging your child to be independent, supporting their choices, teaching resilience, evaluating your parenting style, etc.
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What can I do if I discover I’m a snowplow parent?
If you find out you’re a snowplow parent, you can consider seeking advice from experts or therapists. Consider modifying your parenting style and be more aware of how you interact with your children.
Balanced parenting is good parenting
Being a snowplow parent can negatively impact your child, and they can grow up to be adults who find it challenging to be independent and make decisions for themselves. If you need help stopping snowplow parenting and taking a more balanced approach, see a therapist or a counselor for assistance.
Here’s a useful resource for you to explore more. Read this article by Lynne S Wolbert and other authors to learn the attitude parents should have toward their children’s future flourishing.
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