babying
Treating too gently
Babying is treating someone as if they were a baby—with excessive care, protection, or indulgence.
The word usually carries criticism: Stop babying him; he needs to learn to handle things himself.
Parents baby their children, coaches refuse to baby players, and people accuse others of babying themselves when they avoid discomfort.
Lavish attentive care
- spoilingCausing ruin or decay
- indulgingSatisfying a craving
- mollycoddlingOverindulgent protective care
- cossetingOverprotective care
doting · mothering · nurturing · fussing · smothering · hovering · nannying · infantilizing
Excessive involvement in children's lives
- smotheringDepriving of air
- hoveringSuspended without support
- shieldingProtecting from harm
- controllingExerting authority over others
suffocating · restrictive · interfering · intrusive · vigilant · anxious · cautious · paternalistic
pampering
Lavish attentive care
- spoilingCausing ruin or decay
- indulgingSatisfying a craving
- mollycoddlingOverindulgent protective care
cosseting · doting · mothering · nurturing · fussing · smothering · hovering · nannying · infantilizing · patronizing
helicopter parenting
Excessive involvement in children's lives
- smotheringDepriving of air
- hoveringSuspended without support
- shieldingProtecting from harm
controlling · suffocating · restrictive · interfering · intrusive · vigilant · anxious · cautious · paternalistic · possessive
- overparentinghelicopter parenting, helicopter parent, overprotective, overprotection, overprotecting
- frettingworrying, fussing, fretting, stewing, hand-wringing
- gentle caretenderness, kindness, compassion, nurturing, soothing
babyingneglecting
Failing to attend to
ignoring · abandoning · disregarding · overlooking · dismissing
babyingchallenging
Hard to accomplish
pushing · demanding · testing · pressuring · stretching