Did you know that being a helicopter parent can negatively affect your child’s financial future? Helicopter parenting is becoming more common, but it can have serious, unintended consequences.

If you’re a helicopter parent, consider the financial impact on your child:  

1. Understanding helicopter parenting. Helicopter parenting requires you to be extremely involved in every aspect of your child’s life.  

• Helicopter parents often make the decisions for their children and rescue them from any issues they may encounter. These types of parents want to prevent the world from hurting their children, but they also affect the ability of the children to grow and learn.

2. Inability to make decisions on their own. Studies show that the children of helicopter parents often lack self-confidence and struggle with decisions. They rely on their parents for help with every decision. This affects being able to handle their finances and their ability to invest.

3. They don’t learn how to handle basic personal finance tasks. Does your child understand how to manage a checkbook or write a check? Can your child keep track of spending on a budget?

• The children of helicopter parents often struggle with simple personal finance and have to ask their parents for help or pay others to help them.
• Ensure that your children are able to write a check, make a deposit, make a withdrawal, and keep track of their finances.

4. They lack financial responsibility. Helicopter parents often have children who are financially irresponsible.

• They struggle with responsibility and turn to their parents to save them. Do you rescue your children from every financial mistake they make?
• Parents who act as financial saviors are actually hurting their children’s ability to learn from their mistakes and make more beneficial decisions in the future.
• Children can become too dependent on their parents and refuse to grow up.

5. They may ask you to finance their luxury lifestyle. Helicopter parenting can make children grow accustomed to luxury lifestyles and having all of their needs met. They often continue to ask their parents to finance these lifestyles as an adult.

• Can you afford to finance your child’s luxury desires and wants? Helicopter parents may want to examine how much money they’re giving their children.

6. They remain financially dependent on their parents. Studies show that the children of helicopter parents are also more likely to go home after college without a job or any future plans. They continue to depend on their parents for money and every aspect of their lifestyle.

• The knowledge that you’ll rescue them from any trouble makes them less likely to want independence.
• Encourage your children to establish their own households and careers. Unfortunately, the impact of years of helicopter parenting means that they’re less likely to live on their own.
• You may have to push your children to become financially independent. They may resist this because helicopter parenting has made them feel secure. But think of the future. You don’t want to take care of a 40-year-old child who is capable of working and living on his or her own!

Helicopter parenting can have dramatic outcomes for children and their finances. It’s important to be aware of these consequences and encourage your child’s financial learning and independence. Otherwise, you may be stuck taking care of their finances for years after they become adults.

Silvana Jimenez