Hovering moms have anxious kids

London, Aug 21 (IANS) Parents, especially mothers, who hover nervously over their children and are "over-involved" with them, make kids anxious and lacking in confidence.

Psychologists at Sydney's Macquarie University studied 202 children once when they were three to four, and again five years later, and came to the conclusion that children are better if left to make their own decisions as well as mistakes, the Daily Express reported.

The children were given speech tasks and puzzles, with mothers told to help only if necessary.

They were studied to see how much the children were helped or directed.

The psychologists found the children with "over-involved" mothers were more likely to be anxious at the age of nine.

"Children who show signs of anxiety and who are inhibited, unwilling to talk or reluctant to explore new situations, were more likely to have mothers who help too much," said study leader and university professor Jennifer Hudson.

Instead of fussing, mothers should show courage, she said.