An Analysis Of Five Ways To Avoid Becoming A Helicopter Parent

Within Merete Kropp’s Washington Post article, “Five Ways to Avoid Becoming a Helicopter Parent,” she discusses the how common it is today to be an overbearing parent and suggests ways to avoid becoming a helicopter parent. Her philosophy is that children learn and develop more on their own when they realize how to effectively work through issues and difficulties. The second article, “Dear Strangers, Please Stop Telling Me My Active Daughter Might Get Hurt,” written by Leslie Kendall Dye of The Washington Post, discusses the freedom that she gives her daughter. She talks about how she is continuously criticized for letting her daughter actively play, climb, and swing outdoors. Helicopter parenting has become today’s synonym for authoritarian parenting. As discussed by Cherlin, “The authoritarian style of parenting is a style in which parents combine low levels of emotional support with coercive attempts at control of their children” (p. 275). Helicopter parenting is a recent term that essentially is a negative

According to Cherlin, “The authoritative parent combines high levels of emotional support with consistent, moderate control of their children” (p. 275). This style is different than the authoritarian or helicopter style as it does not involve control, but instead explained discipline. Leslie Kendall Dye exhibits this style when she defends herself after being scolded for being a permissive parent “I have no tolerance for rudeness, for whining, for unwarranted aggression. I talk to my child frequently about empathy and manners. She has chores each morning and evening, and I ferociously police the number of toys in our house” (par. 9). The fact that she permits natural consequences and views setbacks as learning opportunities instead of controlled and unexplained discipline is the key difference between authoritative and authoritarian