Tiger or lawnmower? What kind of parent are you?

Find out if you follow any of these five parenting trends.

Every parent-child relationship is unique. (Source: Getty Images)

Not all parents around the world follow the same child-rearing methods. Some tend to be overprotective, some are too strict while others may become their child’s best friend. Parenting methods are constantly evolving and given the kind of relationship you share with your child, you may be any of the following type of parent:

Tiger parents

Tiger parents are authoritarian and adopt a strict parenting style to make their children attain high levels of academic or scholastic achievement. The term was coined by Amy Chua, Yale law professor, in her memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. A trend popularly seen in parts of Asia, tiger parents make sure their child secures the best grades in school, often achieved by depriving them of simple forms of entertainment like TV or games or restricting him or her from having sleepovers or playdates.

Helicopter parents

Coined by Foster Cline and Jim Fay, the term refers to those parents who tend to hover over their child in the name of protecting him or her. This entails constant monitoring of the child’s actions and movement or even making decisions on their behalf, thus restricting the child from developing basic adulting skills.

Helicopter parents tend to hover over their child. (Source: Dreamstime)

Lawnmower parents

Like helicopter parents, lawnmower parents also tend to be excessively involved in their child’s life, while “mowing down” obstacles that come in his or her way. These parents tend to panic at the very idea of failure and rush to intervene to save their child from any inconvenience. This can involve completing assignments on your child’s behalf, blaming teachers for bad grades or going overboard to solve any little problem in his or her life.

Free range parents

A complete opposite of lawnmower or helicopter parenting is free range parenting. Popularised by Benjamin Spock, free range parents motivate their child to function independently in accordance to their age with limited intervention. The idea behind this type to parenting is to help children develop individuality while letting them take responsibility of their own actions.

Lighthouse parents

A term coined by Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, lighthouse parenting brings forth the idea of parents allowing the child to navigate life on their own. While loving children unconditionally, lighthouse parents know how to strike a balance between accepting them as they are and guiding them.