Balancing act: Child welfare and overindulgence

Child welfare workers may struggle to link child maltreatment and overindulgence. Clarke, Dawson, and Bredehoft [Clarke, J.I., Dawson, C.M., and Bredehoft, D.J. (2004). How much is enough? Everything you need to know to steer clear of overindulgence and raise likeable, responsible and respectful children. New York: Marlowe and Company.] describe overindulgence as parenting that hinders children from accomplishing developmental tasks and from learning life skills. A brief review of literature and historical foundations is included. Three research studies guided the identification of overindulgence categories: (a) material, (b) relational, and (c) structural [Clarke, J. I., Dawson, C. M., and Bredehoft, D. J. (2004). How much is enough? Everything you need to know to steer clear of overindulgence and raise likeable, responsible and respectful children. New York: Marlowe and Company.]. Child-welfare consistent examples of overindulgence are included.