Lawnmower Parents Are the New Helicopter Parents - We Are Teachers
A teacher on We Are Teachers posts about a new term for worried parents: the Lawnmower Parent. I guess these are even more helicoptery than the Helicopter Parents, as they “go to whatever lengths necessary to prevent their child from having to face adversity, struggle or failure.” This is the parent who drops off the water bottle the student forgot, or who attends the job interview with her high school or college student and answers the questions herself.
The article deftly points out: “If we eliminate all struggle in children’s younger years, they will not arrive at adulthood magically equipped to deal with failure.”
I wonder, though, is the child being protected from facing adversity, or is it the parent protecting himself from the child’s failures? Sometimes it’s the parents who are not well-equipped to manage life’s hiccups.
Robin Einzig of The Visible Child points out that this new term is still another opportunity for parents to shame and judge each other, and I would agree. But the article is still a decent read: check it out here.
