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Running Head: REFLECTION PAPER TWO

Reflection Paper Two

Corey Damron
University of Kentucky

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REFLECTION PAPER TWO
Reflection Paper
In our theory of college student success class, we have been assigned
several readings in relation to personal contributions. The most interesting
and important topic for me was How do Helicopter Parents affect
independence and identity. A vast majority of college students including
myself deal with this problem and the two readings assigned under this
topic, Taylor and Coburn, helped inform me of how exactly this can affect
students and how to proceed with changing the student-parent situation.
Helicopter parents are parents who are hovering or swooping in for
the rescue for their child (Taylor, 2010). A more extreme version of these
helicopter parents, snowplow or bulldozer parents, are going up and
beyond hovering to the extent of pushing anticipated obstacles out of their
childs way before the child may even be aware that a challenge exists
(Taylor,2010). But there is a major problem with these types of parents, their
child is not getting to face these obstacles and challenges themselves.
Without the experience gained from having to problem solve and go through
the struggle on their own, they may not be prepared for the real world after
school. This relationship can cause a strong dependence on their parents
that the student will likely struggle to break when moving on in life.
I personally have this problem with my parents. I am a fulltime college
student here at the University of Kentucky but am living at home with my
parents and commuting so having my parents try to hover is inevitable. I

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face the daily when will you be home and do you have all your homework
finished before you go out? Although I know they are just concerned for my
well-being and wanting to make sure I am caught up with my grades, but
their controlling nature is a prime example of these helicopter parents. I
want to be able to make my own decisions and make my own mistakes that I
can learn from so I can assure myself that I am ready to take the next step in
life into self-dependency and living on my own.
Most institutions are experimenting with approaches to teach parents
about student development and try to stray them from hovering over their
children. These approaches include emphasizing parents role in coaching
students to use the resources on campus, thus supporting their success and
promoting their independence (Coburn, 2006). Along with the help from the
institutions, students should express to their parents that they would like to
start facing more challenges themselves and ask for their parents to hover
less. Many students are worried that proposing this self-dependence to their
parents could lead to arguments and an uncomfortable relationship,
preventing them from raising the subject.
In conclusion, hovering, bulldozer and snow plow parents are all
unhealthy relationships for a student to possess. The personal experience
that is deprived by these types of parents is crucial for a student to achieve
to sufficiently prepare them for the real world after college when they
become dependent. Without this experience of knowing what it is like to fail

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and overcome challenges, an individual can become severely behind and
struggle through more through the transition.

References

Coburn, K. Organizing a Ground Crew for Todays Helicopter Parents

(2006)

Taylor, M. Helicopters, Snowplows, and Bulldozers: Managing students

parents (2010)

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REFLECTION PAPER TWO