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Caroline Willis

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

February 17, 2017

Topic Proposal: Pros and Cons of Helicopter Parenting

Introduction/Overview

I will be examining the effect of helicopter parenting on children, with a focus on parents

posting about their kids on their social media platforms. On Wikipedia, helicopter parenting is

defined as a parent who pays extremely close attention to a childs or childrens experiences and

problems. This type of treatment is very prevalent among millennials in American society today.

Many parents of our current generation are the type to obsess over their children. In a recent

article, Kate Bayless, a writer for Parents magazine, lists the main reasons that many parents are

hovering over their childrens activity. She mentions fear of dire consequences, feelings of

anxiety, overcompensation, and peer pressure from other parents as the typical explanations for

the way that children are watched.

An important aspect of this topic that I feel is essential to highlight is the effect of

Sharenting. Sharenting, a term that has come to be only in the past few years, is defined as the

social media violation parents commit when they post about their children without their consent.

Nearly 50% of teens say that they wish their parents would either stop posting about them or

check with them before posting about them. It is a new issue our society, but the fact that almost

half of our generation has feeling towards this says a lot about the world that we are living in.

There are two sides to this debate: One side would be that parents are older, wiser, and ultimately

in control. If they want to post about their children or spend their time in their childrens
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business, that is their own decision to make. On the other hand, some feel that is it unfair for

anything to be posted about anybody without their consent, and that it is better for the childs

well-being to learn from their own mistakes instead of being hovered over.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

This project will explore many different topics; generally, what happens to children with

helicopter parents? What toll does it take on your child when you protect them by making

decisions for them? Is there a line discerning how involved parents should be in their kids

lives? Is it fair to young children when their parents post about their lives for the whole world to

see?

My Interest in this Topic

Im interested in parents relationships with their children because Ive spent years

observing this topic while working as a camp counselor and babysitting for a variety of families.

During my time as a camp counselor, I could almost always predict the childs temperament and

level of (seemingly) overall happiness after meeting their parents at the begin of the week. I have

already learned that the kids that Ive come into contact with who have relaxed parents

typically seem to have better social skills and are more capable of doing things for themselves. It

seems to me that the children with parents who control and attempt to help their children the

most end up being the children who need the most help.

My interest in this topic stems from my heart for kids. I feel that childrens relationships

with their parents are often the foundation for the rest of their lives. I want to learn more about

ways to have healthy family relationships and how to help children who are in unhealthy

relationships with their parents.

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Next Steps
To find more research on my topic, I will be reading blogs and articles written by parents

and by children who grew up with hovering parents about this issue. For example, there are

multiple articles in Parents and Psychology Today magazines from multiple viewpoints about the

topic of over-parenting. I will also be using the UNCC Library Database to search through

academic articles discussing the long term effects that obsessive parenting may have on children.

Another resource I will be using is social media; there is tons of information out there from

people who deal with this first-hand every day, such as educators, counselors, or parents

themselves. There are also many articles on the internet concerning whether or not parents

should be posting about their young childrens activities, accomplishments, and behavior on an

everyday basis.