Helicopter parents? What's THAT all about? Something like soccer moms on steroids?
by 
ThorThpot
ANSWERS: 2
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I must say this was new for me. Here's what Wiki has to say about it: "Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. The term was originally coined by Foster W. Cline, M.D. and Jim Fay in their 1990 book Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility(www.loveandlogic.com). Helicopter parents are so named because, like helicopters, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their children need them or not. In Scandinavia, this phenomenon is known as curling parenthood and describes parents who attempt to sweep all obstacles out of the paths of their children. It is also called "overparenting". Parents try to resolve their child's problems, and try to stop them coming to harm by keeping them out of dangerous situations" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
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The description comes from the fact that parents these days "hover" over their children (like a helicopter). They feel the need to accompany them during every growth experience, allegedly to make sure that the children are protected from any kind of disappointment or discomfort, or some evil idea. And if you look around, it's true. When I took my sons to their college orientation sessions, they separated the students from the parents and you should have seen all the weird reactions by parents-anxiety, indignation, even anger. Really wild. In contrast, my parents, who loved me, made a point of making sure that I confronted the normal challenges of life on my own and thus I got the chance to grow up. Not any more. Every generation says "Whats wrong with kids these days?" These days, the answer is "Their parents"
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