Helicopter Parenting

Helicopter Parenting

 Parents who hover over their children, involved in almost all aspects of their lives as they try to make certain that everything goes according to plan—their plan—are called helicopter parents. Helicoptering has become common among upper-middle-class parents, who are almost obsessively concerned that their children have the right experiences and make the right choices in life. The helicoptering that begins in childhood often doesn’t end with childhood, as some deans have discovered when parents have called to complain that their child received an “unfair” grade. Helicoptering can make children dependent. Those who have decisions made for them can find it difficult to stand on their own. Consider this real-life event: The fresh college graduate was on a job interview. Things went well, and the interviewer was about to offer him the job. When the interviewer mentioned salary, the man said, “My mom is really good at negotiating,” and he got up and brought in his mother, who had been waiting outside the office. (author’s files) And no, he did not get the job. The interviewer was not interested in hiring his mother

The Right Way to Rear Children Helicoptering will come and helicoptering will go. The social classes will always have different approaches to child rearing. But what is the right way? For this answer, read the following Applying Sociology to Your Life.