Helicopter Parenting Research Paper

Helicopter parents often send the unintentional message to their child saying that they are incompetent of doing things on their own - like the things they attempt to accomplish independently are wrong. Instead of letting their children experience a sense of autonomy by allowing them to accomplish things on their own, an overprotective parent would step in and take control; again promoting dependency. A lot of times, such dependency carries on into adulthood (Sade 1). Instead of being a mature, responsible adult and taking things into their own hands; they call on their parents whenever things get strenuous in their lives. Likewise, adults who still depend on their parents for everything do not mature mentally and sometimes do not have the skills needed to become successful on their own.

As we all know mother does know best, yet in some cases mother can do more harm than good. There is a big debate on how people are raising the newest generations and whether or not they are properly being introduced into the realities of our society. Are children being spoiled too much or not enough? This topic is thoroughly discussed by Alfie Kohn in his essay, “ The One-sided Culture War against Children” and by Nick Gillespie within his essay, “The Current State of Childhood: Is “Helicopter Parenting” or “Free-Range Childhood” Better for Kids?”. Although Kohn offers valid explanations, Gillespie does surpass Kohn’s explanations; parents need to be less overbearing and stop pampering their children.

A parent’s parenting styles are as diverse as the world we live in today. Nowadays, parents only want what is best for their children and their parenting styles plays a crucial role in the development of children which will in the long run, not only effect the child’s childhood years, but later prolong into their adult life as well.

Parents have a significant amount of influence on how their children will act, behave and do certain things in today's world which base off of their skills. Not all parents will acquire impressive parenting skills and be able to raise their children properly in society. In a memoir called The Glass Castle, by author Jeannette Walls shares her life story and how it may be perceived as normal. In Jeannette’s life, she along with her siblings are raised by a father and a mother who raises their family in a way that society would view as unusual or problematic. Parents are the adults who have certain ways and skills on how their children are raised in which could be considered a problem, society, on the other hand, has certain views but isn’t necessarily the problem.

It’s true that different parents have distinct parenting styles. Each child must be disparate from another due to cultural background and upbringing. Three major parenting styles that have been around are tiger, helicopter, and free range parenting. In tiger parenting, parents are strict, while in free range it is just the opposite, parents let loose and let their children be who they are and allow them to take risks. The article “I am a helicopter parent, and I don’t apologize” by Elizabeth Fairfield Strokes is an epitome of helicopter parenting and what goes on in a mind of helicopter parent. Helicopter parenting refers to "a style of parents who are over focused on their children," says Carolyn Daitch, Ph.D., director of the Center for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders near Detroit and author of Anxiety Disorders: The Go-To Guide. "They typically take too much responsibility

There are many different types of parents with diverse parenting styles in the world. Some are efficient in their ways, while others struggle to wonder why their child did not turn out to be everything they hoped. The controversial topic of whether the parent knows what is best for their child hangs over the reader’s head in Amy Chua’s article.

A college freshman walks into her dorm room and collapses onto the bottom bunk. One would assume that since it is her first week being on campus she is tired and overwhelmed from all of the freshman activities, but in reality it is her parents who are exhausting her. Her parents got a hotel room for move in day, and they haven’t left her alone since. Multiple research sources suggest that levels of parental involvement have been rising over the past decade, and according to Cline and Fay (1990) this high level of parental involvement is now commonly known as “helicopter parenting” (qtd. in Weinstein). These helicopter parents have definitely “grabbed the attention of scholars, media, and academic institutions” (Odenweller, Booth-Butterfield,

Most parents take an interest in their child’s life from birth until they become an adult by picking and choosing what is best for them as much as they possibly can. Parents want to help their children to be as perfect as they can make them. Typically hovering parents spend a lot of money, time, and effort filling schedules things like with dance classes, baseball, and tutoring in order to have a ‘perfect’ child. As well as coming to their aid when they are in need, or their defense when they are in trouble. Help in making important, life changing decisions, like where to go to college at, or which career to pursue. When does helping become hovering? The generation of “Helicopter Parents” is becoming more and more prevalent in families. A

Parenting is far more difficult than people make it out to be. According to Carol Gioia, a Senior Community Advisor for Helium Network, “Being a parent is potentially one of the most rewarding life experiences a person can have. It might also be the most difficult, for parenting is a round-the-clock endeavor filled with demands and obligations”. Gioia makes a point that not everyone will live up to be “good parents” because no parent is perfect, but they can be good by enforcing a never-ending supply of unconditional love. In the article “What Makes a Good Parent” Robert Epstein provides that some parenting skills have been proven to conduct better out comes in children’s happiness, health, and behavior. In the memoir The Glass Castle, the

Imagine if someone did all your laundry, payed all your bills, called your professors and bosses, and basically solved all your problems for you. You may feel grateful at first until you realize that they are denying you the right to be self-sufficient. This is exactly how adult children feel when their parents are overinvolved. Overparenting has been a popular media topic recently. Whereas parents used to stop supporting their children as soon as they turned eighteen (Etterson 5), more and more parents are continuing to hover, which is commonly referred to as helicopter parenting (“Helicopter” 1). This type of parenting involves “... inappropriate levels of parental directiveness, tangible assistance, problem-solving, monitoring, and involvement into the lives of children” (Segrin, et al. 1). Even though helping a child learn to navigate through adulthood can have a positive impact on their life, parents should be wary of believing that what they consider to be best for their child is also want their child wants. Parents should only provide their adult children with advice and allow them to make their own

According to the New York Metro Parents, a website that combines nine regional print magazines in New York’s Metropolitan areas, several studies of babies left to cry in their rooms show that parents can’t love a child too much. Ferberized children tend to grow up to be extremely successful later in life. These children grow up to be tomorrow’s doctors, firefighters, and millionaires of Silicon Valley. (Hogan and Haskell, 2). Most of today’s kids have one of the following types of parents: Indulgent, Authoritative, Neglectful, Authoritarian*. These are generally regarded as the four main types of parenting. These four styles of parenting are the stereotypical parenting styles most people identify one or both of their parents as. Indulgent parents tend to coddle their children and protect them from disappointment. Authoritative parents are people who have reasonable demands and rules usually met by children who respond well and listen to them. Though they have high expectations, these parents’ children tend to meet or exceed the expectations due to the resources the parent’s provide. These parents are known by some children as the “golden guardians.” They are what every parent who has ever purchased a parenting book strives to become. Authoritarian parents have extremely high expectations that are almost impossible to meet and very strict rules that must be followed unconditionally. These adults are the origin of parental nicknames such as “Scary Gary” and “Evil

He redefines what it means to be a “cool” parent, addressing that the expectations of parents having to keep up with the latest trends in order to relate to their child is inaccurate. Being a “cool” parent begins when the parent’s authority is challenged by his or her child, and they remain calm (Runkel, 2007, p. 1). Runkel (2007) states that a parent who’s truly in charge, allows there to be room for growth without making constant demands of their children (p. 29). Runkel makes the significant distinction between being responsible for your kids and having responsibility to your kids. Illustrating that it’s the parent’s responsibility to be the kind of parent their child needs. Such as, provide for their basic needs and model appropriate behavior. He stresses that parents cannot control their children’s actions but what they can control is how they choose to respond and address them. It’s crucial for parents to not depend on their child’s behavior being factored into their happiness. “What children need most is for their parents to be the first ones who see them as individuals in their own right with their own lives and decisions and futures” (Runkel, 2007, p. 77). Aside from parents being aware of their emotional reactivity, they must also be conscious of the space their children need in order to grow. Giving children the space to make their own mistakes without continual direction, will keep them from living “borrowed lives” (Runkel, 2007, p. 79). Runkel informs eight ways parents can provide their children with emotional

The over involvement of parents can make the child develop psychological issues. They are shown to have a higher risk of depression, anxiety, lack self-confidence, and have low self-esteem (“Helicopter Parents” Stir Up Anxiety, Depression). It is shown that no matter what parenting technique is being used, every parents goal is to build their child’s self-esteem (Rutherford). Sadly, helicopter parenting does the exact opposite. Equally important, the persons lack of self- confidence comes from the over involvement of their parents in his/her childhood activities and academics. They never experienced failure or loss because the parents were always there to step in, so they never achieved anything to build their confidence (“Helicopter Parents” Stir Up Anxiety, Depression). It is common for a child with helicopter parents to develop depression when moving from their home to

The belief that the family structure and parenting practices have morally declined can be traced back to the early 1940’s in America. In an interview with C. Moran, LCSW-C (personal communication, April 8, 2004), she described a time where families lived very close to, if not on the same street as their extended family. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents would all participate in the raising of the children, “it takes a village to raise a child” (C Moran, April 8, 2004). In some cases, the grandparents would teach the parents how to parent. As time moved on into the “freeness” of the 1960’s and 1970’s, parenting became more passive. Children at a young age were allowed to make decisions that ten years ago would have been made by their parents. The belief was to allow the child to make their own mistakes and they would receive the repercussions from society. As a result, more freedom of choice would be given to the child. Now, with the children of the sixties and seventies having offspring of their own, the “millennial generation”, and extended families spread out globally, active and involved parenting is becoming a thing of the past.

This symbolizes that early parenthood is closely correlated with difficult life trajectories before and after having to face parenthood. The risks of being a parent at a young age are related with a multitude of unsafe situations in young parents’ lives including poor parenting. Studies concerning the nurturing approaches of young parents have suggested that they are not primed to present positive understanding of parenting. Referring to Karraker and Evans (1996), they argued that teenage parents are more unlikely to have adequate comprehension regarding child development, high hopes for their children and show compassion compared to those who have their children later in life and this can result to frequent demonstration on behaviors that are violent or negligent (Leadbeater and Way, 2003). Child mistreatment is another risk factor that is common with young parents (Lounds et al., 2006) and according to Sevens-Simon et al. (2001) children of teenage parents is twice as likely to be targets of maltreatment. A research on adolescent mothers established that by the age of 2 20 percent of children are taken away from maternal custody (Zucker, 2003). Given the difficult ecological surrounding and lack of appropriate parenting that the children of teenage parents progress in, it is not a revelation that it puts them in a greater jeopardy when it comes to complexities in progressive