Are You A Helicopter Parent?

Helicopter Parent... The first time I heard this phrase it was about a friend of mine. The lady telling me about this, (not knowing I knew who she was talking about), went on to explain. "You know? the hovering mother on the playground, the one that is there to stop a tripping child before the obstacle is even there?... that is a Helicopter parent" "Oh!" I answered completely understanding, knowing my friend and how she seems to be able to carry on a conversation while holding onto all 3 children, all running in different directions. The parent who does not want there child to have a fall, trip or mishap and is there before it even happens. That is a great explanation of a hovering... Helicopter parent.

Of course we as parents do not want our children to experience pain and most of us will do anything to protect our children. But there is a time when you simply must let them realize that you can not be there to catch them every time. They do have to learn that if they are going to be doing certain things, they may fall and will have to deal with that. I am speaking literally and figuratively here, because this hovering does overlap into other things in life too. I know a mother who would be at the play ground for recess and lunch in case her child would be playing alone. Is this too much?

My mother is a retired nurse (of 42 years! yah!) growing up you would think that she may be the hovering Helicopter parent because of this. Nope, couldn't be farther from it actually! Maybe that is why I am so not a helicopter parent either. Now don't get me wrong, when something was really wrong or we were hurt badly, the mother nurse would surface and we were very well cared for, we also knew when this happened that this was not something to be goofing around about. My sisters and I are all in our 30's, none of us are or ever have been "drama queens' if you will. Which brings me to this question, is this where hypochondriacs are formed? The hovering helicopter parent effect?

I am most certainly not an expert in child rearing, I am learning as I am going. I do however sit back and watch a lot of what is going on at play groups and even play dates. The different parenting tactics and how they are received by different children... very interesting people watching for sure!

I'll leave you with this, helicopter parent or not, I'm sure your children are well cared for and know they are loved... what more can we want for our children?

Please leave a comment, I love to hear from you.

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