Helicopter Parents Doing Kids a Disservice

An article in the Vancouver Sun titled;  Helicopter parents hovering ever closer experts say caught my eye.

Because of my book, But Nobody Told Me I’d Ever Have to Leave Home, I am hyper aware of the stories about kids who are being coddled and over-protected. I hear and read the stories about our young men and women who are simply not ready to take on the job of being responsible young adults.

The job of parents is to raise children to become capable young men and women. This involves training, teaching and guiding. AND letting go. The letting go starts when your newborn takes his first independent breath and lasts until he put the key into the door of his first home away from his parents. And parents do the job over 18 or 20 years to make this happen.

The article on helicopter parenting is an example of what to avoid when raising children to become mature adults. This level of involvement in your child’s lives will do them no favours. Society needs mature adults to run our world, not twenty-five-year old children.

Author of But Nobody Told Me I’d Ever Have to Leave Home