What was once nonexistent is now becoming an alarming new normal. Parents everywhere are hovering over their children and watching their every move, creating a dangerous parenting technique called helicopter parenting. Such parents often make important decisions for their children and even bail them out of sticky situations. This movement is creating a nation of children who can no longer fend for themselves. While parents may feel it is necessary, it is often harmful to a kid’s future.
The article Are Your Parents Ruining Your Life? by Marina Khidekel tells how parents are negatively, overinvolved in every aspect of their kid’s lives, creating a new approach to parenting. Helicopter parents feel the need to be overprotective of their children in order to prevent them from failing. The author mentions that some parents take part in tracking their kids every move on social media sites or the child’s cell phone. The
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article progresses by stating that even after kids go to college, parents are still doing things for their children, which does not allow youth to take matters into their own hands. This creates negative effects on the future success of adolescents. The article presses on by mentioning that many students who have overprotective parents struggle once they are on their own. They are unsure of how to deal with failure since they were never exposed to it. Khidekel goes on to say that parents are taking away decision-making abilities that rob kids of learning life skills. Even though parents are trying to make a better child, they end up taking away important life skills and creating a hazardous future for their children. While Khidekel's argument rarely appeals to others emotions, it is strongly supported with credible and numerous people's opinions While the article strongly explains cosset parents, Khidekel fails to relate readers to adolescents with helicopter parents. The article missed a great opportunity to evoke sadness when the opinions of teenagers expressed how much they love their parents in general. The emotions would be better developed if they were in regards to the struggles kids face due to being raised by helicopter parents. The only example like this in the article is when Khidekel quotes a 19-year-old Samantha as saying, “I had to hide the fact that I had a big paper due because if [mom had] known, she would have micromanaged every inch of it” (qtd. in Khidekel 112). Another way the article fails to influence readers is by being written for the wrong audience. The article is aimed at the emotions of teenagers when it should be aimed at parents themselves. Teens already have to deal with helicopter parents; they do not need to read about it. Parents on the other hand may not even realize that their parenting style is affecting their child. An article that uses pathos wisely will empower the reader to do something about the problem. Khidekel did not do that. One thing this article did do is use credibility to show readers Khidekel knows what she is talking about. Throughout the article, the author can be seen quoting many reputable people. When talking about helicopter parenting experiences some of the people include deans of freshmen students at Colgate University and Stanford University, a parent relations consultant to higher education institutions, a family psychologist with a Ph.D. (the highest degree a person can earn), and even adolescents themselves. When it comes to stating facts about society, Khidekel references a social historian at Columbia University. The people that Khidekel cites make them trustworthy because for one, they did not get their jobs without first getting a degree and two, they have plenty of experience with helicopter parents. The author shows this by telling readers, “This extreme level of parental involvement has college administrators alarmed” (Khidekel 112). Besides referring to people with credible degrees, Khidekel also shows ethos through the source of the article. By having the article published in CosmoGirl, a magazine well known by and for teenagers, it provides the article with greater authenticity. The last way ethos was represented in the article, to gain a more authoritative feel, is a survey on parent-teen relationships that was done on cosmogirl.com by teenagers. There is no better way to say things to teenagers than through people of their own kind. By having many credible sources in the article, Khidekel shows the reader that she is someone worth listening to. The last thing Khidekel did well was use particulars and selective words to make an effective argument.
She did a good job of supporting her argument with particulars that were either personal experiences or facts. An example of this is when Khidekel describes how helicopter parents are being detrimental to the future success of children. She cites 16-year-old Shannon as saying, “My mom is like my personal organizer — she remembers all my events months in advance. Sometimes I feel this might cause problems because I won't be able to remember things" (qtd. in Khidekel 112). Another thing that helped out the argument was Khidekel’s choice of words. She displays information that relates to helicopter parenting yet makes readers only see her side. Readers can see this in the article, as Khidekel never states a positive of having helicopter parents. This article clearly got the point across that helicopter parenting is destructive to children's futures. By using the most important part of an article, reasoning, Khidekel delivered a legitimate
argument. Marina Khidekel’s article Are Your Parents Ruining Your Life? was written to inform teenagers on how bad helicopter parenting truly is. In order to get her message across Khidekel had three ways she can do it: pathos, ethos, and logos. While unable to get teenager’s emotional experiences through to the audience, she was able to make a conceivable and well-structured argument with other people’s personal encounters. It overall made for a good article on why not to join the new trend.
In the article “Helicopter Parents Now Hover at the Office,” The Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger reveals that some parents have begun to involve themselves into their adult children’s job search. Shellenbarger explains that many parent have a hard time watching their child struggle since they have taken part in their daily lives for so long. She then describes that some children do not appreciate the hovering of their parents because the hovering prevents them from developing self independence.
In the (2008) article “ The Undercover Parent” on Nytimes.com by Harlan Coben , states “ Loving parents are doing surveilance here… and most parents already monitor their children, watching over their home enviornment, their school.”. Mr.Coben overlooks
According to the article “Helicopter Parenting Delivers Benefits” by Don Aucoin, and “Bubble-Wrapping Our Children: The perils of Overprotective Parenting” by Michael Ungal”: because are the privilege a problem or ventage for children, which the risk and responsibilities for child education, also the real problem of the overprotection.
Many teens nowadays have cell phones, smart phones, iPods, iPads and most of the newest electronics on the market. They also have social media sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, Myspace, Facebook and so on. Many people also say that teens now are “addicted” to their phones and can't let go of it. In the article, Let Kids Run Wild Online, by Danah Boyd, she explains how there are some parents that are “helicopter parents” and they track and monitor their child’s online activity. Danah Boyd is encouraging parents to lay back on their tracking and monitoring and to let their children do what they want online and they will tell you what is going on. She also said instead of being a “helicopter parent” by monitoring what your child sees and does online, communicate with your child and teach them what to do when there is an online predator and “developing strategies for negotiating public life, and the potential risks of interacting with others”. I fully agree with what Boyd is stating in this article and think that kids need their own kind of freedom without parents acting like hawks and watching their every move online.
Most times when a parent is overseeing their child's usage, the child is unaware. This can be considered many things, ranging from stalking to lying. The article also references these points in the words” ...if you are ot monitoring, you are a bad parent. Apparently were supposed to be stalking our kids” (Goodman 11). Stalking has negative connotations and it should stay that way. Many7 would try and argue that it's not stalking if they're your child, however it stays the same as they are watching over, their presence unaware. Once the child finds out, whether they did something bad or not, they may begin to suspect other forms of how their parent may monitor. It could also break the trust the child had with their parent. Many teens who found out their parent was monitoring them, often state how the paranoia has stayed with them well into their adult
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.
If the purpose of parenting is to equip your children to engage in society as a strong and grounded individual, then helicopter parenting represents its direct antithesis. While this current pandemic stemmed from the purest of motives - the desire to protect children from failure or challenges to their self-worth - it represents a fundamentally misguided redistribution of energies. We encourage parents to focus their time on guiding their children through life, protecting them from the outside world instead of building principles in our kids to equip them with the tools to find their
Many people question themselves about how someone came to be, why do they like or do the things they do. Some believe, that it depends on the kind of home or parents they were raised by, or maybe it is their friends, or maybe it is through their own personal experiences. Truth is there is no particular answer at this point. There are many theories and a bit of scientific findings but nothing has been found to be completely accurate. The following essays explain explain how the kind of environment and friends you have as you grow influences you to become the kind of person you are.
In this day and age, the media labels overbearing parents as helicopter parents, and the label itself has taken on a negative light due to the guilt by association. The ‘popular’ definition of helicopter parenting come from the ‘extreme’ cases (Jayson 5). The extreme cases in the news are just that, extreme cases; they do not depict helicopter parenting in general, and have been given the name Blackhawks (“Liftoff for ‘Helicopter’ Parents”). The idea of helicoptering has become a misguided ‘negative portrait’ by media using the term and ‘over parenting synonymously’, but the two terms should be used so. They are very different; over parenting is when a parent does not let the child think for themselves (Aucoin). Over parenting and helicopter parenting are not synonyms, but they are not quite antonyms. Helicoptering can become oppressive parents quite easily. Another side of over parenting is the side that ‘expects… immediate compliance’ to orders without giving reasoning. This style can cause below average ‘self-esteem… self-reliance and… social skills’ (McDevitt and Ormrod). The regular helicopter parenting is more common than what would be assumed as a study shows ‘60 to 70 percent’ of college parents have ‘some helicoptering behavior...
When doing future studies, it would be better to combine both students and parent's views of how parents are bringing up their kids. Also, possibly expanding the definitions for helicopter parenting to include a less rigid picture of helicopter parenting would be helpful. A helicopter parent might be better characterized as a person who cares a lot but also domineering.
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 with things like 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, or which career to pursue.
This is because helicopter parenting can come in different styles depending on many different facets. For example, some cultures put greater stress on academics, while others focus more on athletics. For the terms of this study, we will look to identify students of academic related helicopter parenting. General definitions describe helicopter parenting as people who are overly involved in a child’s life, and/or decision making of the child (Hightower, 2014). More elaborate definitions expand on this and touch on specific facets of helicopter parenting. Helicopter parenting is someone who is overly involved in their child’s academic experiences (Hiltz, 2015). Helicopter parents are vocal in their child’s education, and tend to volunteer at many school functions. Helicopter parenting of college or professional age individuals occurs, when the parental figure is in charge of managing their day to day activities (Manos, 2009). This includes aspects of their lives, such as class scheduling, and job searches. From these definitions, we can articulate a more whole definition of helicopter parents that accurately represents are topic of interest. Helicopter parenting occurs when parents or guardians are overly active in their child’s educational accomplishments, failures, and
In the article “What grown Children owe Their Parents?” by Jane English the article is a good argument. The article gives many supporting reasons why it is a good argument. First off the argument is arguable. In the article it has different areas explain how and why a person can owe someone. It also explains the difference between not owing someone and owing someone.
Throughout life, parents love their child more than anyone else, but during adolescence, parents are perceived as more of a nuisance than anything. Having experienced being teenagers before, parents should be understanding and supportive, but more often than not, they are the opposite. In the article “Sometimes Parents Just Don’t Understand”, the author discusses the irony that parents seem to not understand, even though they, too, at one point, were teens who believed that their parents were not sympathetic towards their yearnings. It is a well-known fact that teens have a semi-developed mind, causing them to act on impulse. However, what parents don’t see is that these impulses are often based on a substantial feeling that the teenager has.
It is a proven study that children of helicopter parents grow up to be resentful of their parents, and of their life. While, an unaware parent’s child can easily go down the wrong path without the parent ever knowing. There is no set way to be a parent, and there is no set way to raise a child, but there are definitely some wrong ways to do it. By being too much of a helicopter parent or too unaware of a child can lead to a child feeling mad and resentful of their guardians.