In an opinion piece by Katie Hurley for the Washington Times, the topic of “shake it off parenting” is explored, along with a personal look at the kind of impact it can have on a child.

First, let’s take a step back and define “shake it off parenting” (SOP) as told by Hurley. In essence, it is the opposite of helicopter parenting. Instead of the parent or authority figure hovering closely over their child’s life, and in many cases making decisions for them, SOP takes it in a completely opposite direction.

In a way, this is understandable. It’s demonstrably unhealthy for children to expect someone to pick up the pieces of their mistakes and shortcomings. However, when we encourage kids to “shake it off”, we are sacrificing a crucial developmental moment: learning to empathize with others.

Next time your child is down, talk about it with empathy.

The SOP parent is one who is obsessed with a child succeeding on their own. Unlike the helicopter parent, for the SOP a child’s experiences with failure are tantamount to success later in life. But perhaps this kind of parent-child interaction misses the point...

Read the full article on Catharine's website, CatharineTosoDSW.com