Essay On Helicopter Parenting

Do you ever think that your parents are all around you and getting a lot involved in your life? Do your parents help you in every single problem? If this is all true, then you are going through helicopter parenting. Helicopter parents are the parents who monitor every aspect of their child’s life. The term roots back its origins in the book “Between Parent and Teenager” by Haim G. Ginott. It was published in the year 1969. It was found in this quote saying “Mother hovers over me like a helicopter and I am fed up with her noise and hot air. I am entitled to sneeze without explanation.” The term became part of the vernacular after formal school principal Jim Fay and psychiatrist Foster W. Cline deployed it in their 1990 book “Parenting with Love and Logic” (Real Simple, 2014).

This term gained more popularity when American college administrators started to use it in the early 2000s. It’s when the millennial generation reached college and their parents helped them in every activity. Parents used to wake their kids up for the classes and talked to their professors for better grades. Some parents, pointing towards the college fees, said that they have to protect their investment by taking care of their kids (Helicopter Parent, 2014).

Furthermore, there are many other reasons for the rise of helicopter parents. Back in the old days, people went through hardships. Now the parents who have seen the old era do not want their kids to have a rough time. So it becomes hard for the parents to watch their kids unprepared and miserable. They cannot help helping their kids in all the situations. Also, nowadays with growing number of successful people with their interesting success stories attract the attention of parents. Parents believe that ...

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... their kids to have a life. After all, parents are not always going to be there. They should allow their kids to face the problems and find a solution to them. A little support and guidance is always beneficial but interfering in the problems all the time is not a very smart thing to do. Parents should basically allow their children to make their own decision. They should also allow their kids to make mistakes and then enabling them to face their success and failures. This will develop problem solving skill in their child. They should relax and watch their kids enjoy their own lives and let them be their own individual. This way, kids can learn a lot and be ready to face challenges that they will face in later life. I also understand that it takes patience and a strong belief in your parenting that you will raise a healthy child who can do their work on their own.