If you are a helicopter parent, think you might be one, or have been recently called one by someone you know, tell me about it.
Do you “hover over” your child? Are you considered to be “over-involved” in your child’s life?
I’m curious and I want to explain why.
Recently I finished a 3 part series on trying to figure out if I was a helicopter parent. (I know now that I’m not.)
However, to come to that conclusion, I compared myself to extreme stereotypes of what I imagine(d) a helicopter parent to be.
While that may have been effective in helping me reach the conclusion of my self-analysis, it still leaves things quite blurry on what a real helicopter parent is actually like.
By gathering stories from readers, I want to be able to present a collective image of a true helicopter parent.
I want to hear which of your behaviors cause you to be labeled as one.
Allow me to give my grandiose stereotype of a helicopter parent so that my preconceived ideas can be proven wrong:
A true helicopter parent believes the “cry it method” is evil and therefore their child rarely sleeps in their own bed, up until the child’s preteen years. The child is given prescription drugs as early as preschool to help them with ADHD and/or depression, as the child never really learns to cope with their own emotions.
Years later, the child has trouble finding their classes in high school and even college, calling their parents for help. Similarly, the child is still completely dependent on their parents, well into their 20′s, for laundry and cooked meals.
Ultimately, the child never really learns to stand up for themselves or believe in themselves.
They never learn individuality, because their concept of it is based completely on how their parents perceive them.
By the time they reach adulthood, all the “babying” their parents have done has preserved them in a perpetual state of “what am I supposed to do?”
Now is your chance to enlighten me, as well as the rest of us, who don’t understand your parenting style. Now is your chance to defend your proud stance as a helicopter parent. Set the record straight by overwriting the stereotype I just shared.
Okay, go…
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