Hyper-Parenting-Too Involved?

Hyper-parenting.  In my clinical work I see the negative effects in children and adults.  The single theme?  Controlling parents (aka helicopter parents).  Parents who do not allow a child/person to be themselves as much as possible.  Add in harshness as a parent and you get children who think they are a fraud and cannot regulate themselves.  Yes you do need to discipline a child, no doubt.  You also have to LET THEM BE.  Get out of the way and a child can actually grow.  Better yet, LET THEM WIN and their confidence will grow.

"Love yourself first." Is this just a cliche?

An issue that has come up in my practice of psychology recently is self love.  What does it mean to love oneself?  I believe it helps to use another word due to the overuse of this phrase.  What about learning to cherish oneself?  Cherishing yourself as you would a beloved pet or your own child.  What would you do differently in your life if you cherished yourself?  Would you be as hard on yourself?  Would you push yourself as hard?  Would you have as high of expectations of yourself?  Would you take better care of yourself?

This is a blog by Dr. Brian Selby (see my website for bio information at http://www.doctorselby.com/).  Be aware of the statement below related to this blog:

*Blogging  is a public forum and any communication, "following" status etc. can be considerred to be in the public domain.  Therefore, no communication in this public forum should be considered confidential.  Dr. Selby will not reply to communications except to "add" you to a "follow" list.  Dr. Selby's blogging is for educational purposes only and are not considered a form of treatment.  If you feel that you require treatment from a mental health professional, please contact a licensed mental health professional in your area.  Please do not engage in a "crisis" communication using this media.  If you feel that you are having a mental health emergency, please go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

This being said, this blog is an attempt to experimentally muse about general self development topics.  Hope you enjoy and learn something useful.  Dr. Selby