A new study says that poor parenting – or too much parenting – can increase the risk of a child being bullied by his peers.

Child abuse, neglect, or overprotection by parents can increase the risk a child will be bullied, according to research published today in Child Abuse & Neglect. Researchers at the University of Warwick conducted a meta-analysis of 70 studies of more than 200,000 children. Since parental support and supervision are important aspects to preventing bullying, the researchers were particularly surprised to find that overprotective parenting can have adverse effects on children. Parents who try too hard to buffer their children from harm, they assessed, can actually hurt them. Read more…