Helicopter parents didn't just hatch or crawl out from under a rock. Our society has created them. We parents are the children of the 60s, and our kids have been (so they say) softened by our love.
Yet, this is the same society that has damaged the college enrollment process. Ruthless competition in schools becomes ruthless competition in the workplace.
There is less time for family values, as a result of overvaluing of prestige and earning power. Or the simple economics of single, working parents, or families where both parents need to work. The convenience of electronic communication has replaced person-to-person contact, increasing our kids' sense of insolation and detachment.
Some estimates say that 40% of our high school students are "unfocused" and see no relationship between their schooling and their future place in the work world. If you trouble yourself with a global view, you have no choice but to think: “Dang, it's a scary world for these kids.”
It's no wonder that parent (uh, we) hover!
We/Helicopter parents “obsess” about the most prevalent and unnerving transition issues in college. Thankfully, serious mental health issues seem to affect the minority of college students. But they often can’t be discovered unless a parent is highly intuitive and willing to jump in or seek help, when the situation calls for intervention.
