Helicopter parents are raising a generation of therapised children, rushing them off to specialists at the slightest sign of a difficulty rather than teaching them how to cope better with life, according to a new book on parenting.

Clinical psychologist and researcher Judith Locke has identified a new breed of therapised children, created by parents' desire to make their children happy.

Locke has observed the "overparenting" phenomenon emerge in the 15 years she has been treating children and teenagers as well as in her university research.

Overly involved in their children's lives, these parents are constantly trying to solve their problems and harbour unrealistic expectations of their potential, she argues. When they are confronted by their child's shortcomings or difficulties, these parents seek out clinical diagnoses.

"A sense of melancholy is labelled depression; any trepidation is labelled anxiety. A friendship fight is bullying," Locke writes in her book The Bonsai Child, which is her term for children who are over-nurtured.

"Many [parents] are labelling any experience of difficulty as a mental health issue."

More than 90 per cent of the 130 school counsellors and psychologists Ms Locke interviewed for her doctorate on overparenting, which formed the basis of the book, said they had encountered helicopter parents.

Over a quarter said they had seen "many" instances of the phenomenon, in findings which were published in the Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling.

Ms Locke said that of the over 450 children she surveyed as part of her research, those who were overparented were no more satisfied with their lives than children whose parents were less hands-on.

More than one-quarter said they had seen "many" instances of the phenomenon.

Locke believes many parents had become amateur psychologists on a mission to see what's wrong with their child.

"These days in our children we look for diagnoses rather than the really obvious reasons. The most obvious reason is they felt like it, it just didn't work out, they're not good at it," she says.

Other psychologists interviewed by Fairfax Media agreed some parents were coming to them overly concerned about their child's wellbeing, but cautioned seeking expert help could be warranted if parents were aware traits like anxiety and depression ran in the family.

"Parents are much more aware of the different mental health issues and they want to nip it in the bud before it gets worse," says Bill Campos, a senior psychologist at the Western Sydney Medicare Local.

Campos says parenting was a "careful balance" between anticipating your child's problems and letting them experience problems in a way that builds resilience.

But Locke says psychologists felt pressure to deliver a medical explanation for why a child might be struggling, when often it was because they lacked resilience, were disobedient or simply average achievers.

"In the face of parents wanting an answer, it takes nerves of a steel as a psychologist to say, 'That's just your kid'," she says.

Instead of sending children to counsellors and psychologists, Locke says parents need to be taught how to help their offspring become more resilient.

"Stop sending the four-year-old to the psychologist, we need to get to the parents."

Primary school principals are increasingly hearing children say they feel anxious or depressed.

"They're adult words," Australian Primary Principals Association president Dennis Yarrington says. "We used to say they're a little bit nervous, now they're suffering from anxiety or depression."

As many as one in 10 children have mental health disorders according to a national survey by the University of Western Australia published this week.

Yarrington says students need to be taught strategies to deal with challenges, but sometimes parents' first reaction was to ship them off to a specialist "because that's what people do".

"Parents in the '70s and '80s said to kids, 'build a bridge and get over it'," Yarrington says. "Parents today want to be seen to be doing the right thing. [They think] 'at least if I [take them to a specialist] I've done everything I can'."

Locke says long-term therapy could actually entrench a victim mentality in children. "They are so used to getting assistance for minor issues they begin to believe they need continual support," she says.

But Woollahra psychologist Kimberley O'Brien says it is positive that parents were asking for help with their children more often than attempting to solve problems themselves. O'Brien says issues could be managed more quickly this way, and early intervention could prevent problems later in life.

"I do see parents with their kids where I think, 'What more could I add to this perfect little scenario'?" O'Brien says. "I feel uplifted when families like that come to me because they want to do the absolute best for their kids and I respect that."

Locke has coined the term "bonsai child" to describe children today who are reared in extremely controlled environments and assiduously cultivated by their parents. There is an over-emphasis on the child's happiness, and an expectation they will excel at life, which can breed anxiety and perfectionism in the child.

Locke says a bonsai upbringing stunts children's development, as they never learn how to adapt to different or difficult circumstances. They grow up anxious, overly dependent on others, lack resilience, have poor life skills and can behave badly.

"A child who has been given the perfect childhood can't cope with the less than perfect realities of adult life," Locke says.

Locke says parental guilt often lay behind overparenting – guilt the child wasn't born naturally or breastfed, was placed in childcare at a young age, had two working parents, or had separated parents. Other parents were reluctant to be tough with their kids because it was a struggle to conceive them, they were sickly or they had experienced some extreme danger.

Signs you're a helicopter parent

- You pack your child's school bag each night so they don't forget anything

- You hide in the bushes to spy on your child at lunchtime to see if they're playing with others

- You email your child's school to demand your child doesn't have to do a detention

-  You lobby the school to get your child into a particular class/sporting team/drama production

- You set up play dates for your child even when they're a teenager

- Every morning you ring your uni student offspring who has moved out of home to wake them up for class

- You edit your child's uni assignments

- You complain to your child's boss about them being passed over for promotion or subject to critical feedback