SweetSue92
Diamond Member
I assume you're all familiar with helicopter parenting: over-protective, over-involved parenting which began in the 80s and really took off in the 90s. I feel like I've been given a front row seat for the debacle. I began teaching in 1993, just when the phenomenon was beginning to catch on. By the time I got my teaching feet underneath me, helicopter parents were in full force. But none of my teaching colleagues had been raised by helicopter parents. We suspected what we were seeing wasn't....good, to say the least.
Well.
Now we know. Now we have this generation of teens and young adults riddled with anxiety and depression, unable to function without strict perimeters. College deans have to include parents on college orientation (!) and teach parents how to 'break away' (!) and there are words for doing things ("adulting") that we just expected to do when we were in our 20s. Why?
We robbed kids of struggle, in short. We decided if we could shelter, protect, and take the challenge away from them, that was better. We decided that the infinitesimal chance of them being abducted if they rode their bike across town at age 12 was not worth it. So we drove them around, activity to activity, until they were 16. Extrapolate that to every activity and throw in a good deal of judgment and a bunch of other stuff, and you have a toxic stew of child-rearing.
There's a lot more to say, but I'll leave it to the board to weigh in. There is a TON of information on this, but here are just a few links to get you started:
The Effects of ‘Helicopter Parenting’
Well.
Now we know. Now we have this generation of teens and young adults riddled with anxiety and depression, unable to function without strict perimeters. College deans have to include parents on college orientation (!) and teach parents how to 'break away' (!) and there are words for doing things ("adulting") that we just expected to do when we were in our 20s. Why?
We robbed kids of struggle, in short. We decided if we could shelter, protect, and take the challenge away from them, that was better. We decided that the infinitesimal chance of them being abducted if they rode their bike across town at age 12 was not worth it. So we drove them around, activity to activity, until they were 16. Extrapolate that to every activity and throw in a good deal of judgment and a bunch of other stuff, and you have a toxic stew of child-rearing.
There's a lot more to say, but I'll leave it to the board to weigh in. There is a TON of information on this, but here are just a few links to get you started:
The Effects of ‘Helicopter Parenting’