‘Lawnmower’ parents urged to let their children make mistakes and messes

If you’ve ever made a cake with a small child, you may be familiar with that underlying urge to take over and do everything yourself to ensure they don’t spill or break anything.

It is a reflex that parents should fight, and instead allow their young children more autonomy and opportunity to attempt things themselves and avoid becoming ‘lawnmower’ parents according to education specialists and child psychologists.