‘Snowploughing’ is the worrying new trend that sees parents remove difficulties from their child’s life – and it can do more harm than good

SNOWPLOUGHING is the latest worrying parent trend to emerge – and no matter what age your children are you could be guilty of it.

Following on from pushy parenting, helicopter and tiger mums, the snowplough parent is a powerful force clearing all of life’s obstacles out of their child’s way.

No matter what your child's age is, you could be a snowplough parent — No matter what your child’s age is, you could be a snowplough parent

This type of parenting could begin as soon as the child is born, as mums and dads get their children’s names onto waiting lists for elite schools.

But the trend seems to continue throughout schooling and into university, and sometimes into the workplace.

The New York Times reported this rising trend in parents who will stop at nothing to make sure their child doesn’t have to experience failure.

Mums will call their teachers about grades, or employers about work and internships, they’ll organise their food, homework and even friendships.

Snowplough parents will remove all obstacles on their child's road to success — Snowplough parents will remove all obstacles on their child’s road to success

Madeline Levine, psychologist and the author of Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies or ‘Fat Envelopes’, says: “They’ve cleared everything out of their kids’ way.

“Here are parents who have spent 18 years grooming their kids with what they perceive as advantages, but they’re not.”

It leaves youngsters unequipped to deal with adult life, and they constantly need their parents help to navigate daily obstacles.

Fellow author Julie Lythcott-Haims, of How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success, said: “The point is to prepare the kid for the road, instead of preparing the road for the kid.

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This type of parenting leaves children without the skills to cope in the adult world

“You have manufactured a role for yourself of always being there to handle things for your child, so it gets worse because your young adult is ill-equipped to manage the basic tasks of life.”

These parents are so determined for their child to succeed they end up doing everything for them, never letting them experience failure.

And when they get into the real world and discover it’s a lot tougher without mummy on hand to fix every little problem, the snowploughed kids can’t cope.