“In fact, we often try to do everything we possibly can to guarantee that our children will have every chance to attain every level of success. That means that we want to provide them with the means to match or surpass us--their parents--and the lifestyle they have experienced growing up with” (Glass 1). According to Peter N. Stearns, in the past 20 years parental over-involvement has increased markedly (Are You Too 1). The question is why is parental involvement increasing? Helicopter parenting can occur for a number of reasons, but there are four main triggers. The first trigger is fear of dire consequences (Bayless 3). A low grade, not making the team, or not getting the job the child wanted can seem catastrophic to a parent, especially
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Basically, helicopter parents may be preventing their children from learning accountability, responsibility, and self-sufficiency (4). Helicopter parents are likely adversely affecting their adult children's self-reliance and self-efficacy by sending them the message that they cannot handle their own lives (5). Parental behaviors have widespread and considerable influences on the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions of children (5). If some of the purpose of adolescence is identity formation and the purpose of parenting is to gradually foster independence, then delayed identity formation and dependence on one’s parents leave college students unprepared for real-life experiences (5). Particularly, children of helicopter parents won’t learn to deal with the consequences of their poor decisions if their parents fix their problems (5). When parents constantly save their children from negative consequences, children don’t learn to overcome failure (5). Overprotective parenting may be associated with psychological maladjustment, such as anxiety, and low self-worth (5). The term helicopter parenting has now become a common term …show more content…
Some moms and dads try to oversee their children's higher education, forage for professional internships for the "kiddies," and make the rounds at college job fairs on behalf of them. Because of this an unsettling term has come about: the adult child. As a result of the adult child, higher educational institutions and the workplace must respond to this strange circumstance: parents managing the day-to-day activities of their adult children, their "extended" adolescents, some aged 30 years or more. With the school dynamic the problem had become so severe that the Arlington, Va.-headquartered College Parents of America (a fee-based, national membership association of 100,000 parents of current and future college students) conducted a survey on the topic in March 2006 with 900 parents of current college students (Manos 4). Seventy-four percent of respondents said they were in communication with their offspring in college two to three times a week (5). Thirty-four percent said the communication occurred daily (5). The contact was largely by cell phone (90%) and email (58%) (5). Involvement further entailed not just campus visits (75% at least once or twice a semester), but also the school Web site (61%), academics (34%), finances (24%) and career planning and health/safety (both at 12%) (5). Other sources have found that some parents admit
Basically, helicopter parents may be preventing their children from learning accountability, responsibility, and self-sufficiency (4). Helicopter parents are likely adversely affecting their adult children's self-reliance and self-efficacy by sending them the message that they cannot handle their own lives (5). Parental behaviors have widespread and considerable influences on the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions of children (5). If some of the purpose of adolescence is identity formation and the purpose of parenting is to gradually foster independence, then delayed identity formation and dependence on one’s parents leave college students unprepared for real-life experiences (5). Particularly, children of helicopter parents won’t learn to deal with the consequences of their poor decisions if their parents fix their problems (5). When parents constantly save their children from negative consequences, children don’t learn to overcome failure (5). Overprotective parenting may be associated with psychological maladjustment, such as anxiety, and low self-worth (5). The term helicopter parenting has now become a common term …show more content…
Some moms and dads try to oversee their children's higher education, forage for professional internships for the "kiddies," and make the rounds at college job fairs on behalf of them. Because of this an unsettling term has come about: the adult child. As a result of the adult child, higher educational institutions and the workplace must respond to this strange circumstance: parents managing the day-to-day activities of their adult children, their "extended" adolescents, some aged 30 years or more. With the school dynamic the problem had become so severe that the Arlington, Va.-headquartered College Parents of America (a fee-based, national membership association of 100,000 parents of current and future college students) conducted a survey on the topic in March 2006 with 900 parents of current college students (Manos 4). Seventy-four percent of respondents said they were in communication with their offspring in college two to three times a week (5). Thirty-four percent said the communication occurred daily (5). The contact was largely by cell phone (90%) and email (58%) (5). Involvement further entailed not just campus visits (75% at least once or twice a semester), but also the school Web site (61%), academics (34%), finances (24%) and career planning and health/safety (both at 12%) (5). Other sources have found that some parents admit