Helicopter parents are overprotective and tend to micromanage their children’s lives, especially during critical rites of passage like getting into top colleges. Black Hawks, an extreme subcategory of helicopter parents, cross ethical lines to improve their children’s chances of getting into the best schools. The phenomenon of helicopter parenting has grown exponentially in recent years, with some parents viewing their children’s college years as a substantial business investment. However, their overprotectiveness and aggressive parenting style could be seen as concerning, as they risk teaching their children that cheating or rule manipulation is acceptable.
Many parents are naturally protective of their children, especially during critical rites of passage like learning to drive, graduating high school, and getting accepted into the top colleges or universities as they achieve their career goal. Some parents, however, have a hard time distancing themselves from their children’s lives and tend to hover over them in an overprotective way. This constant hovering and overprotectiveness has led to this phenomenon being named helicopter parents.
Helicopter parents are the polar opposite of absentee or neglectful parents. They could rarely be accused of ignoring their children’s needs or failing to prepare them for adulthood. Helicopter parents tend to micromanage their children’s high school years, determining which extracurricular activities and courses of study will improve their chances of acceptance into more selective colleges and universities. Instructors, school administrators, and guidance counselors may be quite familiar with some helicopter parents who apply excessive pressure to ensure their children are kept on the right path to higher education.
Even after high school, helicopter parents often continue to strategize to improve their children’s chances of getting into the best schools. An extreme subcategory of helicopter parents known as Black Hawks have been known to cross ethical lines by filling out their children’s application essays themselves or by exaggerating their children’s achievements and honors. Black Hawks, much like the rapid-response military helicopters that inspired their name, will act quickly at the first sign of trouble with a college admissions officer or recruiter.
The phenomenon of helicopter parenting is not new in education, but the number of overprotective parents has grown exponentially in recent years. With a college education becoming a requirement for many career paths, more and more parents are viewing their children’s college years as a substantial business investment. Their overprotectiveness and aggressive parenting style could be seen as concerned investors taking an active role in the growth of their start-up “company”.
While some family involvement in a child’s upbringing is considered healthy, the moral flexibility exhibited by helicopter parents is not. Many colleges and universities have enforced bans on cell phones and other communication devices from classrooms not because of personal distractions, but because some helicopter parents, mostly Black Hawk-motivated, have been known to broadcast test answers or other materials to improve their children’s grade point average. When helicopter parents begin to cross ethical and moral boundaries to protect their children from experiencing failure, they risk teaching their children that cheating or rule manipulation is acceptable.
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