Helicopter parents are stifling our development
by Chris Thuma – Horizon Staff Reporter
New studies have found that helicopter parents can make college students unsuccessful.
Neil Montgomery, a psychologist leading the research at Keene State College, explained the phenomenon in a recent article published by Live Science.
“The problem is, when they ratcheted it up, they went too far, and in fact, caused an expansion of childhood or adolescence,” he said.
Montgomery surveyed about 300 college freshmen, asking them to rate their level of agreement with statements such as “My parents have contacted a school official on my behalf to solve problems for me.”
About 10 percent of the participants qualified as having helicopter parents. The rate was higher in girls than in boys with 13 percent of the females and just 5 percent for the males. It was mostly the mothers doing the “hovering.”
“We have a person who is dependent, who is vulnerable, who is self-conscious, who is anxious, who is impulsive, not open to new actions or ideas; is that going to make a successful college student?” Montgomery said. “No not exactly, it’s really a horrible story at the end of the day.”
I believe that helicopter parents are annoying. Yeah, they might mean well, but I wonder if they realize they may be stifling their child’s development by failing to allow them to solve their own problems. I can’t stand it. I believe that college students should be on their own – at least to an extent. I think that we are the ones that have to make our own decisions and take responsibility for our actions. We are not 5 years old anymore; we are adults and we need to help ourselves. I am not saying ignore your parents, but I think college students should be independent unless they need money or care packages or whatever.
Maybe parents should realize we are not their babies anymore.
That being said, not all parents are alike. My mom is nothing like a helicopter parent. If I have a problem at school or with an instructor, I call my instructor. I do the calling, not her. My mother gives me the freedom I need to be on my own, which ultimately teaches me to live on my own.
