Sociological Concept Of Helicopter Parenting

A newer sociological concept, helicopter parenting, revolves around millennial students and the close, dependent relationships they have with their parents and grandparents. These are parents/grandparents who are actively involved in their child’s education, even at the collegiate level. This desire to micro-manage a child’s actions and decisions comes from the growing societal emphasis to achieve professional success. Professional success now being defined as excelling through high school and proceeding to an elite ivy league college with no “pit-stops” along the way for free-play and relaxation. This narrow definition of success expects children to perform at very high academic levels, which their parents/grandparents push them harder and

When considering gender and helicopter parenting, females are more likely than males to be helicopter parented. This comes from the gender stereotypes that girls are fragile, and success does not come as easy to them as it does to boys. Also, I believe that socioeconomic status plays a very influential role in who is helicopter parented. Middle or working-class families might not be able to afford tutors, music lessons, or other extracurricular activities that upper-class families can that give their child an “edge” in the college acceptance competition. Families with low socioeconomic status can encourage and motivate their children to do well in school; however, they typically cannot dedicate any additional resources or time to supplementing their children’s education. Therefore, I see a significant difference in the helicopter parenting of children from varying socioeconomic

A large emphasis to be placed on the word helping. I feel that helicopter parenting reduces autonomy in a child’s life and deprives them of self-efficacy. By taking over and directing a child’s life so they never make mistakes, helicopter parents are robbing their children of valuable life lessons. Throughout my own childhood, I was not helicopter parented. I contribute this to the fact that I am the oldest of four children in a working-class family. Our parents have always been supportive and made sure that we have had everything needed to be successful in school, but they did not necessarily have the opportunity to become helicopter parents. I do not consider this a negative thing because my younger siblings and I all appreciate the value of working hard to achieve our goals. My conclusion is that helicopter parenting done in moderation can be beneficial to children. It is when their parents start to value their grade point average more than happiness and the occasional failure that I believe that it is inly hurting the child’s ability to be successful