Helicopter Parents
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“Helicopter Parents” and Their Effect on the Children
Since when has it been a crime to be involved in your child’s life? Apparently since now, when parents aren’t sure what extent they should be involved. Researchers call these children the “echo-boomers,” which means they are born to baby boomers anytime between 1982 and 1995. Parents of these “echo-boomers” treat their children like a prized possession that would be incapable of doing anything incorrectly.
As young children, you involved your child in as many extracurricular activities as possible: soccer, piano, acting, girl scouts, boy scouts, karate, Odyssey of the Mind, and even gymnastics. At the end of every season, coaches hand out trophies even to the losing teams, so your child won’t feel left out. Your child had a graduation for preschool, kindergarten, middle school, high school, and finally college. Speaking of college, I almost forgot all of the tutors and SAT prep courses have been created to make sure all of these “echo-boomers” even make it that far.
Is all of this coddling and idolizing really a parent’s fault though? Not everyone is convinced. Many psychologists believe that the reason for all of this “In-depth” parenting is the way the baby boomers grew up. Most were raised in the 1960’s, a time of change and development. Therefore, when it was their turn to be parents, they had no choice but to create different methods of child rearing.
Last fall, ABC News reported on a “helicopter mom.” This mother, Robin Lewis, is a single parent with two sons in college. She home schooled them throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Now that they are out in the classroom, she had to think of other ways to help them succeed. Lewis talks to her sons constantly on her cell phone when they are not in class. When it is class time though, she keeps herself busy making detailed to do lists, checking their grades, managing their personal bank accounts, and worst of all, responding to her sons’ emails in their college inbox.
Most would get the impression that a twenty year old man would not want a mother involved in their personal life to that degree. Apparently that isn’t the case with the Lewis children, because they love the help their mom gives them. Recently, she has begun to proofread their papers before the due dates.
The question that seems to be impossible in this regard is, when is it time to let your children grow up? It is one thing to guide your child in their schooling and personal lives while they attend elementary, middle, and high school. However, college life used to served as a transition from living at home, to being out in the real world, with real responsibilities. If children are never experiencing a sense of transition, when will they now how to function? In a workplace confrontation, how will they ever be able to handle it properly? Is a twenty five year old business man supposed to drop his work issue to call his parents to ask for the best solution? I think not. So parents, I know the best solution to raising a successful child may seem to be “hovering,” but think twice before you become a textbook case of a “helicopter parent.”
Works Cited 1. Carroll, Felix. "No Escape from 'Helicopter Parents'" ALBANY TIMES UNION. 27 Jan. 2005. 24 Sept. 2006 <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/209473_copterparents.html>.
2. McFedries, Paul. "Helicopter Parents." WordSpy. Logophilia Limited. 24 Sept. 2006 <http://www.wordspy.com/words/helicopterparent.asp>.
3. Do 'Helicopter Moms' Do More Harm Than Good? ABC News. New York: ABC News Internet Ventures, 2005. 1-4. 24 Sept. 2006 <http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1237868&page=1>.
