Have you ever heard the term “helicopter mom”? I had not until recently and then all of the sudden, I am seeing and hearing about it all over the place. A “helicopter mom” is a mom who “hovers” over her children. It references an overprotective mom who is so involved in their child’s life, she basically does everything for them. The term came about in the 1990′s. It usually refers to moms of college aged students, but after reading about “helicopter moms”, I think it occurs at any age. I also like to think one can have varying degrees of hovering.
I would like to say I am not a “helicopter mom”, but I’m not so sure I can. I am not so controlling over my children’s lives that I do everything for them. I try to teach them independence with school work, getting dressed, grooming themselves, fighting their own fights, etc. I try to allow them independence for age appropriate actions. However, in this day and age of the internet, social media, and predators, how can we not afford to be too controlling? That is why I think there is a respectable level of hovering as well as different categories for hovering before you may be considered a “helicopter mom”.
I have read articles where moms do kids’ homework for them, she registers them for their classes, she calls them once a day or more (sorry, Mom. You do fall into this category!), she sneaks into their dorms, does their laundry and sneaks back out, and/or she cleans their rooms for them. Basically, she does so much her child does not know how to do these tasks on their own. Okay, to me, that is an absurd amount of interfering. Children certainly need to know how to function without mommy being around. How else will they grow up and be responsible on their own? They won’t with that amount of “hovering”.
But, back to the safety issue. How much is too much hovering when it comes to your child’s safety? Growing up, I was able to play in the neighborhood streets. I was allowed to leave our property for hours on end. I was able to play kickball down the street until dark. I was allowed to go for bike rides without reporting back every five minutes where I was. I was able to play hide and seek down the entire street and nobody panicked. Sadly, this is not the case today. We live an entirely different society.
How much freedom is too much with the scary people who are out there? How much is too much hovering to where our children feel they have little or no opportunity to play freely? Maybe the sickos were out there when I was growing up, but maybe the media did not expose them so we were unaware of all the dangers out there. Maybe as the age of technology progresses, people have become sicker with all they have access to. So yes, we have to be “helicopter moms” when it comes to our children’s safety, although there is a fine line. We do not want our children to become so neurotic they are afraid of everyone and everything. There has to be a balance, but to me, it is a hard balance to find. I can only hope my children will not consider me a “helicopter mom”. Do yours?
Tags: FSU Seminoles Maternity Shirt, helicopter moms, UF Gators Maternity Shirt, USF Bulls Maternity Shirts
