<p>Has this article already been discussed?</p>
<p>Read it, confess I alternated between "oh I wouldn't do that" and "yup, I would do that." Hubby pointed out that with so much more money involved now it's harder to back off.</p>
<p>Hear about the 7 people shot this morning in a Seattle neighborhood after a party?
I think this sort of laissez faire parenting is more common ( and dangerous)</p>
<p>*Nancie Thorne, whose 15-year-old daughter, Suzanne, was in the house at the time of the shooting got a call from her daughter's boyfriend this morning.</p>
<p>"It's the worse phone call a mom can get," Thorne, said, adding that she went to the home after getting the call.</p>
<p>She said she doesn't know where Suzanne currently is.</p>
<p>The girl, Jesse Mullens, Suzanne's 18-year-old boyfriend, and another friend had gone to what Thorne called a "zombie rave" in downtown Seattle last night.</p>
<p>It appeared to be a sanctioned event, she said. They purchased tickets. Her daughter told her she thought it was at Studio Seven, a rock club south of Seattle's Sodo district.</p>
<p>Who lets a 15 year old go to a rave and then an after party until 8am? Single mother who works nights or something?*</p>
<p>soproudofkids, that link has been posted, and it was generally accepted by all that any parent who posts on CC is, in fact, a helicopter parent.</p>
<p>touche' (pretend that's the correct accent)</p>
<p><<<are you="" a="" helicopter="" parent?="" may="" have="" heard="" the="" term="" parent.="" more="" and="" colleges="" universities="" are="" using="" it.="" but="" what="" exactly="" does="" it="" mean?="" parents="" hover.="" they="" always="" on="" lookout="" for="" threats="" to="" their="" children's="" success="" happiness.="" if="" problem="" surface,="" these="" ready="" swoop="" in="" save="" day.="" recent="" years,="" reported="" that="" making="" presence="" felt="" campus.="" intervening="" roommate="" disputes,="" registering="" children="" classes,="" questioning="" professors'="" grades.="" consequences="" of="" such="" behavior="" been="" negative="" students,="" parents,="">>></are></p>
<p>Anyone of us that has had a family member that is seriously ill, has a chronic illness, and/or requires serious surgery knows the importance of being a "helicopter" around their loved one's healthcare. It can mean the difference between life or death. Yes, healthcare personnel are educated (as teachers are educated) yet they make mistakes. No one has the right to tell the family of the sick person not be a helicopter -- why do we allow the educrats to intimidate parents in this manner???? If an MD (who is far more educated than any or most teachers) has no right not to call a family member a "helicopter parent" than no educator has either!!!</p>
<p>This kind of article seems silly to me. I would never contact the administration or a professor at my son's college, and I wait (long periods of time!!!) for him to call. I call occasionally, when there is a business matter to discuss. I would never interfere with a roommate or social situation. I don't think it's any college's business to judge my relationship with my children.</p>
<p>That being said, we are making SIGNIFICANT financial sacrifices, including long term loans, to pay for his education. So I do take an interest in the classes he takes, whether he's on track for a degree or double major, and to some extent his grades. We are in this financially, so it's not all up to him. If he was self supporting, that would be different. And I agree with Jlauer about medical issues -- I've had to advocate for my parents during medical situations, and I would do so for my kids.</p>
<p>Since our kids are in private school, we pay a lot of tuition. many of their high school teachers were former public school teachers so they aren't used to parents being "so concerned" about so much and so quick to speak up when something isn't right. Well..... we are paying customers, so....... When the chemistry teacher went thru a divorce and refused to teach in the classroom (for over a year!!!!), the parents began complaining after the first month. yes, we were accused of being "helicopter parents" but since we are paying tuition for a chemistry teacher who wasn't teaching (or having any labs), we felt that we had a right to demand that the school take action. </p>
<p>Like I said in an earlier post, no one would call a parent a "helicopter parent" if they complained when their kid was getting inferior medical treatment, so why do the educrats feel that they have the right to give such a label to parents when they uncover education deficiencies.</p>
<p>I wouldn't expect to have to "interfere" when my kids are in college -- they'll be able to fend for themselves. But in high school (and younger) students are often expected to "sit down and shut up" when they (the kids) bring forth an injustice. If the student continues to try to plead his case, he's given a detention. Instead, I or my husband intervene because I dare a teacher try to give ME a detention.</p>