'Helicopter' Parents Advocate Involvement

[muskanhossain]

Far across the parenting spectrum from Skenazy are those whose persistence in "hovering" over their children's activities and experiences has earned them the moniker "helicopter parents." From the father who won't let his 11-year-old daughter walk to a neighbor's house alone to the mother who calls her adult son's supervisor to complain about a less-than-glowing employee evaluation, these parents maintain what many believe to be an unhealthy presence in their children's lives.

Mark McCarthy, the assistant vice president and dean of email data development at Marquette University, told The Washington Post that the over-parenting trend of the past quarter century has produced young adults who lack the self-reliance of previous generations. "They have been the most protected and programmed children ever - car seats and safety helmets, play groups and soccer leagues, cell phones and e-mail," McCarthy told Post reporter Valerie Strauss. "The parents of this generation are used to close and constant contact with their children and vice versa."

Parents who subscribe to the Free Range Kids philosophy aren't the only ones who are concerned about continued "close and constant contact." Employers have taken notice, too, and they're less than thrilled about what they're seeing. As Eric Chester, president of the training and consulting company Generation Why Inc., told ABC News, "If [parents have] always micromanaged their life, then that kid is going to be dysfunctional in the workplace, regardless of what their skill set is," he said.

This trend toward continued and intensive parental involvement has been formalized by at least one group. College Parents of America, which describes itself as "the only national membership association dedicated to advocating and to serving on behalf of current and future college parents," doesn't shy away from the helicopter parent label. The group's website includes a blog entitled "Hoverings" that features a propeller as a logo and a mission statement of "Empowering you to clear your child's path to and through college."