Helicopter Parenting

Improved Essays
A related study with regard to Helicopter Parenting was conducted by researcher and psychologist, Neil Montgomery (2010). He conducted a study on 300 college students on Helicopter Parenting. He chose to focus on college students because they can be seen as being on a threshold of a new life stage as they have taken their first step away from the physical walls of their home and physical presence of their parents. Montgomery (2010) concluded that about 10% of the students had parents with overprotective traits. According to Montgomery (2010), the negative effects of Helicopter Parenting tend to make the children unhealthily “dependent, vulnerable, self-conscious, anxious, impulsive, not open to new ideas and actions”. In a study by Le Moyne …show more content…
Helicopter Parenting can permit positive outcome when the “hovering” is age appropriate; when parent and child engage in a dialogue; when the child is empowered to act; and when parents step in only if necessary. They labeled this behavior positive parental engagement. According to Dr. Patricia Somers (as cited in Somers and Settle, 2010) overprotective parents may have different focus areas that may be attributed to gender. Helicopter mothers tend to be preoccupied in a broader, all-encompassing way than fathers. These mothers tend to dominate, manipulate, pull the ropes behind the social scene making decisions about personal friendships, making sure their children get good college roommates, keeping track of their child's Facebook status to make sure their friends come from a decent background etc. They also take on the role of being their child's unofficial guarantor of academic success not only helping their children with their essays but actually doing the research and writing it. On the other hand, helicopter fathers are typically less detail orientated but more concerned with overall status and career path. Hence, helicopter mothers tend to be more subtle their intrusion while helicopter fathers uses overt confrontation going directly to the people in power with requests, complaints and sometimes even threats. Even though there are gender differences in over parenting, Helicopter Parenting can be found in most social classes of society and ethnic

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Eva Adzema Period 7 Ms.Snell English 9a Why being too involved in your children's lives could be hurting them The parenting that you either see being given, are given, or give your children may be causing more damage than helping out your kids. An article written by Alex Frew McMillan tells you why being an overly intrusive parent may damage your children. Professor Ng, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, compiled her research in two studies, one conducted in the laboratory in Hong Kong and the US and another by interviewing mothers in China and the US by phone for 12 consecutive days. In the lab research, she and her team give the children, aged 8 or 9, a test.(The Dark Side of Overly Intrusive Parenting:…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    After analyzing “Extreme Parents Cause Distress”, I strongly agree with it’s publication in The Shorthorn. I examined the rhetorical appeals of Purcell’s piece, and believe it is relatable with readers of The Shorthorn. The article addresses the pressures parents put on their children, and the effect it has on them. The term “helicopter parenting” was created from parents who take an overprotective or imprudent interest in their children’s lives. This article is a great edition to the newspaper, as it acknowledge the issue and promotes…

    • 86 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are you a helicopter parent? According to Judy Koutsky in “Why I Want my Kids to Fail” she brings about the fact that you're a burden on your own child's health and growing process. Koutsky begins with a strong opening statement. She observes “Parents may hover in the name of love, but they might also be stifling their kids’ growth.” (Koutsky 1) She knows why she's writing, and intends to do so.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Shattering Truths of The Glass Castle: An Analytical Essay No one’s parents are normal; everyone has baggage in some form or another. Maybe they are overbearing helicopter parents, or maybe they consider their careers to be of the utmost importance, sacrificing quality time with children for work. Maybe they are intensely academics-focused tiger parents, or maybe, like Jeannette Walls describes in her bestselling memoir The Glass Castle, they border on destruction with their free-spirited nonchalance about what it means to be a parent.…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In reality, helicopter parenting can be of benefit and disadvantage on parents and children depending on how they take care and control their children in the house and at school.…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through the ages, society has evolved. Technology advances, jobs evolve even parenting styles adapt and evolve over the years. Change is hard to see in small measures, however, over time one can see big differences. In the Depression era, parenting styles were more authoritative. In the Baby Boomer generation, parents had more of a distant relationship with their children.…

    • 1150 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In order to save this nation from becoming wimps, "helicopter" parenting must end, discipline must increase, and children must mature and learn from life experiences to develop independency. "Helicopter"…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Counter Argument Outline

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Counter argument outline I. Introduction: Thesis statement: Despite presenting strong points regarding parents’ monitoring their children, some of the author’s arguments were weak and groundless II. Common ground: Topic sentence: In her article, Woods had some very good points regarding this controversial matter A. First Idea: parents see it as protectiveness but teenagers consider it as an invasion of privacy B. Second Idea: Some clear-cut cases needs parents’ intervention such as sexting III.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The parents are not involved in their children's lives or develop. Because of this parents are not supportive, emotionally attached and give little value to their children's opinions or thoughts. The parents only supply basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing. These children tend to be secluded lonely, fearful and have high levels of anxiety(“Parenting” n. pg). An authoritarian styled mother and an uninvolved father are the most responsible for the social anxiety of children.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In recent studies, millennials have been shown to be the most overprotected generation of children to exist in our nation’s history. (LeMoyne & Buchanan., 2011, Pg. 399) In the two works “How to Land Your Kid in Therapy” by Lori Gottlieb and “Don’t Pick Up” by Terry Castle, the idea that helicopter parents will, over time, cause emotional and psychological damage to their children is thoroughly dissected. These two works set out to provide validation that unless these children can break away from their hovering guardians, they will never find themselves, nor be truly happy. I agree with both Lori Gottlieb and Terry Castle, in that helicopter parenting causes a plethora of issues as a byproduct of being overly involved and overprotective.…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mental Health And Prison

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Parenting practices are vital to alleviate stress from the children; keeping marital conflict and economic hardship away from the children is also important for the child 's health (Lee et al., 2013). By protecting and aiding the child’s feelings of emotional security, children are able to cope with any familial problems, which consequently leads to a lower chance of having any mental illness. However, going overboard when it comes to child care has negative effects as well. A study done showed that students that were allowed greater autonomy reported higher life satisfaction, physical health, and self-efficacy (handling of complicated tasks and adverse situations) than students with "helicopter parents. " Students with lower self-efficacy reported higher levels of anxiety and depression (Reed et al., 2016).…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “Overprotective parents send the message that their children cannot handle life’s challenges on their own. This can lead to a lack of self-confidence in these children,” (Hewitt 1). Overprotective parenting makes a child feel like they are stuck where they cannot escape. The child feels like they cannot trust anyone or anything. They are trapped.…

    • 1280 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some may use “helicopter parenting” as a term for counter-argument. The term is defined as a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child’s experiences or problems. But there is a difference between “hovering” over your child’s life and controlling when the need becomes apparent. When you control certain aspects, you are teaching along the way and not just controlling for the parental benefit. Ultimately, the common ground that should be reached is to help the children develop self-control through discipline and lessons that will last them through adulthood, “All children need the security of knowing the rules and boundaries of behavior; without them they feel at a loss” (Goodman education.com).…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Overparenting has been a controversial topic for quite some time, all the way back to Romeo and Juliet. On a day to day basis, these “helicopter parents” can be recognized, either dousing their children in hand sanitizer or complaining to their children’s teacher about the children’s poor test grade. Most people consider overprotective parenting unnecessary. Children need to grow and experience everything for themselves. Conversely, that calls to mind the question of how much freedom children should receive.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both articles “for some, Helicopter Parenting Delivers Benefit” by Don Aucoin and “Bubble-Wrapping our children” by Michael Ungar. Some helicopter parenting knows how to involve their children’s lives by “Aucoin” and some helicopter parenting don’t know how to involve their children’s lives by “Ungar”. Helicopter parenting is a necessary and justified response to a changing world because helicopter parenting is can be benefitted the life of their child and Helicopter parenting is can be harmful for the children. Helicopter parenting can be benefitted the life of their child. The helicopter parenting watches their kids go through the college admission process.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays