Book Nook: The Overparenting Epidemic

Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

Helicopter parenting was a term coined in recent times, and in some instances has gotten out of control, with parents doing essentially everything for kids. In The Overparenting Epidemic, noted psychiatrist and parenting specialist Dr. George Glass cites studies that show parents who are anxious, invasive, offer excessive favors, or erase obstacles that kids should negotiate themselves, are producing children that are ill-behaved, narcissistic, anxious, entitled – and unable to cope with everyday life.
Sadly, the obsession to provide everything a child could possibly need has created epidemic levels of depression and stress in our country's youth, and it could all be avoided if parents would just take a giant step back, check their ambitions at the door, and do what's really best for their kids. The Overparenting Epidemic is a science-based, yet humorous and practical, book that features an easy-to-read menu of pragmatic advice on how to parent children effectively and lovingly without overdoing it, especially in the context of today's demanding world.




I liked this book. I found myself agreeing a lot with what he had to say (I tend towards a much more relaxed parenting style myself), yet he wrote it in such a way that if you do tend to be a helicopter parent yourself, it's not preachy or demeaning. Instead, it presents a logical, research-based justification for letting kids succeed and fail with appropriate, loving support.



George S. Glass received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Swarthmore College, earned a medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, and did his psychiatric residency at the Yale University Medical School. His post residency training included intensive studies in the treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse. In 1972 he set up the U.S. Navy's first alcohol treatment program at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, and has since served as chairman of departments of psychiatry at several Houston hospitals. For thirty years, he has helped families, attorneys and courts deal with the psychological consequences of divorce, has served as a forensic expert in family court cases, as well as conducted group presentations and divorce workshops.
Dr. Glass's academic credits include appointments as a clinical associate professor of Psychiatry at the Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Medical School and School of Public Health, and the Cornell Weill School of Medicine. For more information, please visit: www.georgesglassmdpa.com.