Helicopter_Parents

Helicopter Parent from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A helicopter parent is a term for a person who pays extremely close attention to his or her child or children, particularly at educational institutions. They rush to prevent any harm from befalling them or letting them learn from their own mistakes, sometimes even contrary to the children's wishes. They are so named because, like a helicopter, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach whether their children need them or not.

An extension of the term, "Black Hawks," has been coined for those who cross the line from a mere excess of zeal to unethical behavior such as writing their children's college admission essays. (The reference is to the combat helicopter of the same name.)

The term "helicopter parents" is a pejorative expression for parents that has been widely used in the media; however, there has been little academic research into the phenomenon. Although the term seems to have originated and been in use among schoolteachers as far back as 1991, it only gained wide currency when American college administrators began using it in the early 2000s as the millennial generation began reaching college age. Their late-wave baby-boomer parents in turn earned notoriety for practices such as calling their children each morning to wake them up for class and complaining to their professors about grades the children had received. Some of these parents had, in fact, chosen the child's college, and hired consultants to help fine-tune the application process.

Today some parents of students in the primary and secondary grades have attempted to neutralize the term by openly referring to themselves as helicopter parents and wearing t-shirts sporting the logo "helicopter parents."

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