Helicopter Parenting
How does a person grow up to be who they are? Most people say it is determined by the way their parents raise them. The parents that hover close and the parents that give their children space will have children with complete opposite characteristics. Parents that hover close are referred to as “Helicopter Parents,” and children that are given a lot of space are called “Free- Range Kids” (Rutherford). Although these styles of parenting are vastly different, both kinds of parents are trying to do what is best for their child. Of the two parenting types, helicopter parenting is looked at as a worse method for parenting. There are more negative aspects of it then there are positive. Not only do helicopter parents impact their child, but also any teacher, professor, or future employer of the child. The signs of being a helicopter parent are very noticeable, the mental growth and self-esteem of the child is challenged, and the child’s future is compromised.
Helicopter parents are not hard to spot. Their characteristics stand out amongst the other parents. They are in constant contact with their child, over involved in their child’s decisions concerning school, and feel responsible for their child’s failures (How Not to Be a Helicopter Parent). When a parent is in constant contact with their child through cell phones and other electronic devices it plays the role of a “virtual umbilical cord” (“Helicopter Parents” Stir Up Anxiety, Depression). Helicopter parents feel that they should be “immediately accessible and responsive at all times” (Rutherford). Free- range kids are given the privilege of building their independence with less supervision and more freedom to experience and learn on their own (R...
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... put their child’s future in jeopardy.
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While her argument is strong in bringing valuable date of college students into place, there is no specific statistic on how many parents hover over their children; in fact, there might not be any way to measure how many parents are “helicopter parents.” There is a spectrum in Sociology that ranges from being permissive, authoritative, or authoritarian. A permissive parent is defined as being “nondemanding and noncontrolling” (University of New Hampshire). An authoritative is defined as being both “demanding and controlling, but they are also warm and receptive to their children’s needs.” while an authoritarian is considered to be “demanding and highly controlling, but detached and unreceptive to their children’s needs” (UNH). From Lythcott-Haims’ discussion about the girl having her father control her life including her major in economics, her father would probably be described as an authoritarian parent with him not letting her make her decisions. Even though this spectrum may bring a better idea on what kinds of parents are, it still doesn’t show numbers on how many parents fall into each category and that may because of how difficult it would be to fall into one parent style when it’s possible to fall in the middle of certain categories. Because of this, the number of helicopter parents might not be
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This paper will explore the strict parenting whether it has positive effects or negative effects on children. Before I begin my discussion, I want to ask you a question. How do you define an authoritarian parent? In response to this question, you can think about someone who has a complete control over his or her children. According to Kendra Cherry, the author of “What Is Authoritarian Parenting?”, she explains that, “Authoritarian Parenting is a style characterized by high demands and low responsiveness.” In this sentence, authoritarian parenting, also known as helicopter parenting, is parents who force their children to follow their needs without any explanations, so their children must be under their regulations even though children do not
Helicopter parenting is a phenomenon that has taken the United States by storm! This style of parenting raises children to be dependent on their parents well into their mature years. Julia Lynthcott- Haims explains the four main factors that are responsible for this shift in parenting and childhood in the excerpt “The Four Cultural Shifts that Led to the Rise of the Helicopter Parent” in her book How to Raise an Adult. The “shifts” Haims proposes are juxtaposed with examples of how parenting has evolved to convey how the childrearing has transformed. The author attributes the helicopter phenomenon to four events that began in 1980s: child abductions becoming publicized, the idea that children were not doing enough schoolwork,
Some of the greatest milestones in life are graduating from college and getting a first job. However, no matter how challenging those activities are, many people believe the hardest job in life is being a parent and bringing up children. While child rearing is difficult, many also believe it is the most wonderful thing in their life also. Child rearing also has us question ourselves: "Am I raising them correctly?" "Should it be this stressful?" "Should I raise my child like my parents raised me?" "Should I ignore parenting advice I receive?" Diana Baumrind, a clinical and development psychologist, researched parenting styles. Her research can help answer many of these questions as well as define authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved parenting, and the pros and cons of each style.
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With over three hundred million Americans and over six billion people worldwide parenting skills are essential to maintain a healthy society. Parenting involves many aspects and requires many skills. It is a time to nurture, instruct, and correct to develop fundamental skills children will need to be mature, responsible, and contributing adults to a society. There are four commonly identified parenting styles; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved parenting. Of the four parenting styles, two remain on opposite ends of the parenting spectrum. These two styles; authoritarian, and permissive both have deleterious results that are often visible throughout different developmental stages, such as rebellious behavior. As well each style has its own advantages such as; acceptance by peers with commonality. Child rearing for most parents is an evolving set of skills. It could be said that, with any style of parenting, there is no explicit set of rules for every situation, and what works for one child may not be effective for another.
Each different parenting style each comes with pros and cons. In regards to parenting, there is never a wrong or right answer because every child and circumstances are different when it comes to the importance of the positive and negative effects. But each style comes with its effects on children. A few pros about Authoritarian parents are that their...
Parents and their parenting style play an important role in the development of their child. In fact, many child experts suggest that parenting style can affect a child’s social, cognitive, and psychological development which influence not just their childhood years, but it will also extend throughout their adult life. This is because a child’s development takes place through a number of stimuli, interaction, and exchanges that surround him or her. And since parents are generally a fixed presence in a child’s life, they will likely have a significant part on the child’s positive or negative development (Gur 25).
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