Helicopter Parents

Aidoneus · #1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pare ... ng_strip_4

DrStraw · #2

We are not allowed to even acknowledge an e-mail from a parent because by doing so there is an implicit assumption that the student is (or is not) in the class. Parents are not even allowed that knowledge because their child is legally an adult. Before I am allowed to communicate with any parent the student must sign a release and have it forwarded to me by the registrar's office. This cuts down on most problems for the instructor.

I had one last semester who went through the procedure and so I had no choice but to respond. The girl was claiming that she was unfairly failing because she had missed an exam when sick. I explained to the mother that there were provisions for that clearly stated in the course contract and that the girl had made no attempt to follow them. The mother never even acknowledged my reply. If the parents do not even have enough courtesy to send a simple thank you, what hope is there for the children?

Bill Spight · #3

DrStraw wrote:

If the parents do not even have enough courtesy to send a simple thank you, what hope is there for the children?

Not to worry. In our current economic environment, they will be living with their parents until they are in their 30s, anyway.

Aidoneus · #4

Bill Spight wrote:

Not to worry. In our current economic environment, they will be living with their parents until they are in their 30s, anyway.

I thought that this was a new trend, too, until I saw this from the Washington Post the other day.

Bill Spight · #5

Aidoneus wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

Not to worry. In our current economic environment, they will be living with their parents until they are in their 30s, anyway.

I thought that this was a new trend, too, until I saw this from the Washington Post the other day.

Interesting. That fits with the idea that the 60s and 70s were anomalous, and that we are returning to the bad old days. :cry:

Bonobo · #6

From the German Wikipedia entry on “Helicopter Parents” (yes, I had to look that up. ”Overprotective” is the word I knew for this.)

Herzlichst, Tom

Mef · #7

Bill Spight wrote:

Aidoneus wrote:

Bill Spight wrote:

Not to worry. In our current economic environment, they will be living with their parents until they are in their 30s, anyway.

I thought that this was a new trend, too, until I saw this from the Washington Post the other day.

Interesting. That fits with the idea that the 60s and 70s were anomalous, and that we are returning to the bad old days. :cry:

I wonder exactly how or even if they controlled for military service. In 1948 the US draft changes to just target young men (18-26 instead of 21-45). Starting in late 1950 we have Korea and then Vietnam runs through '73. The 60s and 70s would have large numbers of young men in that 19-24 group who were conscripted (and thus not living with their parents). It might not be that it was a good time for everyone.

Edit: I suppose a similar hypothesis would be that soldiers returning from war are less likely to live with their parents, this may do a better job of explaining the drop for women aged 19-24 as well.

Aidoneus · #8

A bit more about failure to launch: http://www.vox.com/2014/9/4/6101987/asp ... lly-adrift

DrStraw · #9

Talking about helicopter parents, this is what happened to me on the way to work this morning. I have a 25 mile drive through rural Virginia. On one particular road the school bus stops at almost every house - eight of them. This was at 6:30 am on a pleasant, balmy morning. At more than half of the stops there was an SUV or other large vehicle parked, with the engine running, waiting for the school bus. None of the driveways are longer then 100 yards long, most much shorter, and most of the kids are teens or close to it. But they don't seem capable of getting from the house to the road without assistance from their parents, who then drive back to the house. This happens on most of the roads along the way: fortunately there are far few kids living on those roads or I would never get to work.

How are children ever going to learn to be independent and fend for themselves if they cannot walk the short distance to the bus by themselves? When I was 6 years old I walked one and a half miles each way to and from school by myself, as did every other kid. We all grew up to be able to solve our own problems.

Bill Spight · **#10**

DrStraw wrote:

How are children ever going to learn to be independent and fend for themselves if they cannot walk the short distance to the bus by themselves? When I was 6 years old I walked one and a half miles each way to and from school by myself, as did every other kid. We all grew up to be able to solve our own problems.

These days that is called child neglect. If you came from a minority family your mother would have been arrested and you would have been placed in foster care. Then you would have become a juvenile delinquent and own your own company now. :mrgreen:

paK0 · **#11**

DrStraw wrote:

Talking about helicopter parents, this is what happened to me on the way to work this morning. I have a 25 mile drive through rural Virginia. On one particular road the school bus stops at almost every house - eight of them. This was at 6:30 am on a pleasant, balmy morning. At more than half of the stops there was an SUV or other large vehicle parked, with the engine running, waiting for the school bus. None of the driveways are longer then 100 yards long, most much shorter, and most of the kids are teens or close to it. But they don't seem capable of getting from the house to the road without assistance from their parents, who then drive back to the house. This happens on most of the roads along the way: fortunately there are far few kids living on those roads or I would never get to work.

That seems like a scene out of a bad comedy movie. Are bus stops not a thing where you live?

DrStraw · **#12**

paK0 wrote:

DrStraw wrote:

Talking about helicopter parents, this is what happened to me on the way to work this morning. I have a 25 mile drive through rural Virginia. On one particular road the school bus stops at almost every house - eight of them. This was at 6:30 am on a pleasant, balmy morning. At more than half of the stops there was an SUV or other large vehicle parked, with the engine running, waiting for the school bus. None of the driveways are longer then 100 yards long, most much shorter, and most of the kids are teens or close to it. But they don't seem capable of getting from the house to the road without assistance from their parents, who then drive back to the house. This happens on most of the roads along the way: fortunately there are far few kids living on those roads or I would never get to work.

That seems like a scene out of a bad comedy movie. Are bus stops not a thing where you live?

Yes, lots of them. In fact, the stops at every house which has a child. Usually I know what time the bus gets there and I avoid that time, but today I was running a little late.

On the way home I was driving down the same road, the other way. I got half way down it and the police had the road blocked because of an accident. The detour was an extra ten miles.

Shawn Ligocki · **#13**

DrStraw wrote:

paK0 wrote:

That seems like a scene out of a bad comedy movie. Are bus stops not a thing where you live?

Yes, lots of them. In fact, the stops at every house which has a child.

Haha, this remind me of an alleged Mark Twain quote: "Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times."

Helicopter Parents

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