Helicopter Moms: Parents doing too much

2008 April 25 by: Scott

Do ‘Helicopter Moms and Dads’ Do More Harm Than Good?
‘Hovering Parents’ Have Become Common on College Campuses

By ABC News: 20/20 television Series

The term, “helicopter parent” has been around for over a decade. Some parents are insulted when another parent asks if they are a “helicopter parent,” or “helicopter mom.” The term has become more commonly accepted. It refers to a parent who has the desire to fly in and fly out with the purpose of rescuing their child in distress. Most parents, who love their children, have been on rescuing missions (some using a jet, instead of a helicopter) to rescue their child. This article, presented by ABC News has some interesting points to make regarding this terminology in regards to raising children.

Robyn Lewis is an extraordinarily devoted parent. As a single mom, she home schooled her sons, Ethan and Brendan, and her life has revolved around caring for them. Even though Ethan, 21, and Brendan, 18, are now attending college away from home, and she’s taken a full-time job, that doesn’t mean Lewis is losing interest — or hour-by-hour involvement — in her boys’ lives.

When she’s not on her cell phone with one of the boys, she’s organizing their lives. She spends an hour drafting to-do e-mails for her sons, checking their grades, their bank account balances and even using their personal passwords to check their student e-mail.

Q&A: Advice on ‘Helicopter Moms’

Lewis works tirelessly to keep everything in her sons’ lives in order — from doing their laundry to organizing their schedules to proofreading their papers.

And Brendan and Ethan both say they’re grateful for their mom’s efforts on their behalf. “She wants to make sure that I do it well, and it, and it’s all because, you know, she cares,” said Ethan, who’s studying at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Brendan, a freshman at Arizona State University, also appreciates his mom’s help. “It’s nice to have someone else who kind of serves as … a secretary mom.”

And the secretary characterization doesn’t bother Lewis. “I think that’s great. It means that I’m very organized. A secretary helps to keep the boss focused and organized, right? We don’t know how to balance much of our lives yet when we’re 18,” she said.