<h2>UK Guardian- today- (it’s an international condition)</h2>
<p>Trend of ‘hovering’ over graduate children on rise
· Evidence of some trying to negotiate offspring’s salary </p>
<p>Donald MacLeod
Thursday January 3, 2008
The Guardian </p>
<p>The feared five
Paul Redmond, head of careers at the University of Liverpool, describes the five types of helicopter parent:
The agent
Operates like a footballer’s agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. It’s the agent’s job to represent his or her client at events which, for whatever reason, the client feels are simply too tedious to attend. Having an agent helicopter parent is like having Max Clifford working for you round the clock.
The banker
Accessible online, face to face or via personal hotline, the banker is unique in the world of financial services for charging no APR, asking few if any questions, expecting no collateral, and being psychologically inclined to say yes no matter how illogical or poorly articulated the request. The banker is also resigned to never seeing loans repaid.
The white knight
This parent appears at short notice to resolve awkward situations. Once resolved, the idea is the white knight will fade anonymously into the background.
The Bodyguard
The primary function of the bodyguard is to protect the client from a range of embarrassing social situations, such as cancelling appointments and soaking up complaints on behalf of their client.
The black hawk
Dreaded by teachers and educational administrators, the black hawk is unique among helicopter parents due to their willingness to go to any lengths - legal or illegal - to give their offspring a positional advantage. Particularly lethal when elected to parent-teacher associations.
· Read Paul Redmond’s piece Here comes the chopper. Have your say on the Education.Guardian.co.uk blog Blogposts | The Guardian</p>