Helicopter parents: may we know them, may we love them, but may we not become them. Many are unfamiliar with this term used to describe a parent who takes a domineering or excessive interest in the life of their child, and are often found hovering over their child’s daily encounters. According to the infographic created by Dr. Jesse Viner and Matt Zajechowski, “The term “helicopter” for describing a parenting style was coined in 1969 when it appeared in the book Between Parent & Teenager by Dr. Haim Ginott, who notes a teen using the phrase to describe his mother” (Dr. Jesse Viner and Matt Zajechowski 01 Sep. 2015). Additional research says that helicopter parents seem to dominate primarily in the northeast and west coast, and that females are more …show more content…
An article called "Why Parents Need to Let Their Kids Fail" written by a teacher named Jessica Lahey encourages parents to stop sheltering their children from the idea of failure because “Year after year, my "best" students -- the ones who are happiest and successful in their lives -- are the students who were allowed to fail, held responsible for missteps, and challenged to be the best people they could be in the face of their mistakes” (Lahey, Jessica January 29 2013). Trying to sugarcoat not getting a passing grade, or losing a sports game is not doing any good for a adolescent. In life, people fail, and there is no sugarcoating that. That does not change the fact that curriculum in some schools is actually being changed so that one does not receive an A or an F, they get a “exceeding standards” or “approaching standards”. Similarly, at the end of a sports season the winning team does not get trophy’s, everyone does. A theme has begun to develope and that is that the coddling of youth is not preparing children for the harsh realities of