Coddling

Coddling refers to treating someone or something with excessive care and protectiveness, often to the point of being overindulgent or hindering their development. It implies shielding from hardship, difficulty, or criticism, sometimes unintentionally preventing the individual or entity from building resilience or learning from mistakes. This can manifest as shielding children from challenges, indulging in a particular behavior excessively, or protecting fragile objects in a way that becomes impractical.

Coddling meaning with examples

• The coach's constant praise and lack of constructive criticism led to the star player's coddling, ultimately stunting their growth and causing them to become complacent. This overprotective approach, meant to boost confidence, inadvertently harmed their ability to handle setbacks and improve performance, a stark contrast to a more direct approach.
• Parents who **coddle** their children by constantly intervening to solve problems, refusing to let them experience natural consequences, may inadvertently weaken their child's ability to become independent. This creates a cycle of dependence, where the child avoids challenges and has a hard time learning about their mistakes.
• The government's coddling of failing businesses, providing endless bailouts instead of encouraging innovation, ultimately stifled market competition. This protective measure, while intended to stabilize the economy, led to inefficiency and discouraged the development of stronger, more sustainable companies.
• She was accused of coddling the evidence in her favor, carefully arranging it in a way to make a compelling argument. The way she handled the evidence seemed to suggest an attempt to protect the data at the detriment of uncovering the truth, possibly suggesting a bias in her judgment.