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    Helicopter Parents

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    Helicopter parents are overly involved in their children's lives and problems, particularly in education. The document describes a scenario where Mrs. Switzer, a helicopter parent, contacted her son's teacher multiple times demanding a grade change and arguing her son's work was superior. It provides tips for teachers on how to handle helicopter parents, such as understanding their perspective, setting clear boundaries, and advocating for students' independence and ability to learn from mistakes.

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    Helicopter Parents

    Uploaded by

    api-584647670
    129 views10 pages
    Helicopter parents are overly involved in their children's lives and problems, particularly in education. The document describes a scenario where Mrs. Switzer, a helicopter parent, contacted her son's teacher multiple times demanding a grade change and arguing her son's work was superior. It provides tips for teachers on how to handle helicopter parents, such as understanding their perspective, setting clear boundaries, and advocating for students' independence and ability to learn from mistakes.

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    Helicopter parents are overly involved in their children's lives and problems, particularly in education. The document describes a scenario where Mrs. Switzer, a helicopter parent, contacted her son's teacher multiple times demanding a grade change and arguing her son's work was superior. It provides tips for teachers on how to handle helicopter parents, such as understanding their perspective, setting clear boundaries, and advocating for students' independence and ability to learn from mistakes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    129 views10 pages

    Helicopter Parents

    Uploaded by

    api-584647670
    Helicopter parents are overly involved in their children's lives and problems, particularly in education. The document describes a scenario where Mrs. Switzer, a helicopter parent, contacted her son's teacher multiple times demanding a grade change and arguing her son's work was superior. It provides tips for teachers on how to handle helicopter parents, such as understanding their perspective, setting clear boundaries, and advocating for students' independence and ability to learn from mistakes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 10

    Helicopter Parents

    Parents Who Are Too Involved


    Dorie Isaac | Alicia Kisto | Alyssa Hinds | Logan Fox
    What are Helicopter Parents?

    Helicopter parents are parents who are “overinvolved, overprotective,


    and overindulgent” and parents who “hover and swoop down to solve their
    children’s problems” (Van Dyck, 2015, p. 1)

    Helicopter parents pay extremely close attention to their child's


    experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.
    Helicopter parents are called this because, like helicopters, they
    "hover", overseeing every tiny detail of their kid’s life.
    Scenario: Mrs. Switzer

    Parent: Mrs. Switzer

    Teacher: Samantha Strevy

    What happened: Mrs. Switzer’s son Ben is an eighth grade


    student at Copper Hills Middle School. He received a
    less-than-perfect grade on an exam in Ms. Strevy’s class,
    and his mother contacted Ms. Strevy to see if she would
    change the grade, citing an old textbook that was no longer
    in use.
    Scenario: Mrs. Switzer (cont.)

    The textbook that Mrs. Switzer cited was out of date, and
    the teacher responded back to the email citing the current
    textbook that the class was using. Mrs. Switzer was still
    unhappy that her son was not given a 100% on the exam, even
    though his answer was incorrect. She also used the exam of
    another student and claimed that her son’s answer was
    superior to the other student’s, so her son should receive a
    better grade. Mrs. Switzer had previously contacted Ms.
    Strevy over twenty-five times in one month complaining that
    her son was not receiving a 100%.
    How to handle a Helicopter Parent as a teacher

    Understand the benefits to Helicopter Parenting.


    “Research on child development has found parental
    involvement to be a strong predictor of positive outcomes
    like better academic achievement, improved social skills,
    fewer behavioral problems, and low levels of alcohol use”
    (Van Dyck, 2015, p. 17-18)
    How to handle a Helicopter Parent as a teacher

    Understand how helicopter parenting may affect your student.

    “... as a child becomes older they may doubt their own


    abilities since they’ve never had to figure out anything on
    their own. They might feel that their parents don’t trust
    them to make their own decisions, and even start to
    question whether they’re equipped to manage their own
    life.” (Higuera, 2019)
    How to handle a Helicopter Parent as a teacher

    Listen to their concerns.


    Remember that helicopter parents tend to act how they do
    because they care for their children’s well-being. Remind
    these parents of the steps that you are taking as the
    teacher to help them succeed. Emotions are high when it
    comes to parents and their children, so try to play the
    middleman and advocate for both the parent and student’s
    success.
    How to handle a Helicopter Parent as a teacher

    Play the middleman.


    Advocate for the student’s success through failure. Students
    need to make mistakes in order to learn from them and grow.
    It’s okay to not be perfect, and this is best taught when
    the student is allowed to make mistakes. Find reasoning
    between the two and come up with a solution to the problem.
    How to handle a Helicopter Parent as a teacher

    Make sure to set boundaries with the parents. Let them know
    that you mean it and you’re sticking to them. Also make sure
    your communication is clear when dealing with parents so
    nothing gets misinterpreted between you and the parent.
    Don’t be defensive when dealing with parents. Check your
    tone of voice and make sure it doesn’t raise because that
    can cause conflict between you and the parent.
    Resources

    Cox, J. (2020, March 24). Teacher tips to ground helicopter parents. Hey Teach! Retrieved November 30, 2021, from
    https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/teacher-tips-ground-helicopter-parents2003.html.

    Hayes, W. (2009). All new real-life case studies for teachers. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-60709-144-8 )

    Higuera, Valencia. “What Is Helicopter Parenting?” Healthline, Healthline, 12 Sept. 2019,


    www.healthline.com/health/parenting/helicopter-parenting#consequences.

    Lum, L. (2006, November 15). Handling 'helicopter parents'. Diverse Education. Retrieved November 30, 2021, from
    https://www.diverseeducation.com/students/article/15082796/handling-helicopter-parents.

    Van Dyck, A. L. (2015). What Propels Helicopter Parents? Parents’ Motivation for Over Involvement in their Children’s
    Higher Education (thesis).

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