Helicopter Parenting Bad For Teen's Health Care Independence [Study]

It's normal for parents to worry about their child's health, but a new national survey found that doing all the talking when visiting the doctor's clinic won't help teenagers make a health decision for themselves.

The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, which was conducted by experts at the University of Michigan, revealed that more than 40 percent of parents are mostly in control when their teenage kids are visiting the doctor. This only means that kids are not allowed to ask questions or talk to their doctor in private, according to the news release from the university.

The survey, which was conducted in September this year, involved a randomly selected parents who have at least one child between the ages of 13 to 18 years old.

The poll specifically found that 20 percent of parents, without their children around, discuss physical health problems of their teens with their doctor, while 16 percent of teens do it without their parents' presence.

In addition, the poll also found that 38 percent of parents ask most of the questions about their kids' health problems, compared to the five percent of kids who do it alone.

More surprisingly, 65 percent of parents do most of the filling out of health history form for their kids while only seven percent of teens do it by themselves.

"The majority of parents are managing teens' health care visits, and their teens may be missing out on valuable opportunities to learn how to take ownership of their own health," Sarah J. Clark, associate director of the national poll, concluded.

Clark added that it is natural for parents to take over when making decisions about their child's well-being. Furthermore, she mentioned that it can be difficult for the parents to welcome the transition in which teens will make independent decisions about their health.

"But with parents' guidance, these early opportunities will help teens prepare to navigate the health care system and take responsibility for their own health as they get older," she continued.

The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health stated in its website that teens should slowly start being responsible when it comes to their health as this should prepare them for adulthood.

Teenagers should be able to understand the health history of their family, discuss health problems with their physician and ask about different treatments and medications.

The team from the National Poll on Children's Health suggested that teens should consider routine checkups as an opportunity for them to practice being independent in making healthcare decisions.