Parents often have less time to spend with their children, and there is sometimes guilt associated with not having enough hours in the day to tend to children's needs. Parents may coddle because they're trying to make up for lost time.

Why do parents coddle the youngest?

Psychologists have theorized that parents coddle youngest children. They also might ask older siblings to take on battles for little brothers and sisters, leaving the youngest children unable to care for themselves adequately. ... As a result, youngest children are believed to be unafraid to do risky things.

Why do parents overcompensate?

Much of the reason we overcompensate for our parents' mistakes is that we project ourselves or how we felt as kids onto our children. ... When we see our kids as extensions of ourselves, we then put pressure on them to either be like us or excel in ways we weren't able to.