Micromanage: specifically related to parenting
I'm looking for a verb similar to micromanage that can be used in non-business contexts such as to describe a parent or a spouse.
Sara _____ her children; she denies them any autonomy in making personal choices and insists on knowing every minute detail about how they spend their time.
A search on dictionary.com shows a few potential matches, however these are all business related and don't really fit the context nor convey the intended connotation:
- administrate
- execute
- direct
I'm looking for a word that is somewhat pejorative and has the connotation of being overly meddling.
Solution 1:
Smother (verb), or, less pejoratively, overprotective (adj). Smother, from Meriam-Webster
to stop or prevent the growth or activity of •smother a child with too much care.
In the OP's example:
Sara smothers her children; she denies them any autonomy in making personal choices and insists on knowing every minute detail about how they spend their time.
Sara is a smothering mother, or, more charitably, an overprotective mother. See familyeducation, Understanding the Smothering Mother
Everyone has a name for these moms. However, the one that is universally understood is "overprotective".
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines overprotective as:
wishing to protect someone, especially a child, too much:
The children of overprotective parents often do not develop the skills they need to take care of themselves when they leave home.
Solution 2:
Helicopter parenting noun, Informal.
- a style of child rearing in which an overprotective mother or father discourages a child's independence by being too involved in the child's life.
Source: Dictionary.com
Though this is not a verb, it is a noun that encapsulates the exact meaning and context of the OP question.
Provided by @1006a
Hover over
- Fig. [for someone] to stay close to someone or something, waiting, ready to advise or interfere.
Source: Free Dictionary.com