Helicopter Parenting

I had heard this term being introduced during one of the education conferences a few years back.

The context of presentation was how Gen X parents (my generation) are overprotective and perhaps micro-managing their children, in order to keep them safe & have the best opportunity in life (at times scoring the highest possible marks & answering all questions excellently). Hence the teachers' challenge is when educating children belonging to these parents (topic: education management). I have since forgotten the specific items of discussion- it may have been related to collaborative teaching efforts of teachers & parents- but the term 'helicopter parent' lingered.

In the present day, this morning to be more specific, the helicopter parents were crowding their cars in front of a high school near where I live and traffic jam ensues. There are plenty of parking space/ drop off space across the road, but our concerned parents choose to wait in front of the school gate & watch their fully grown child walk into class, before driving away.

Forgive me while I rant:

• Certain parents, in my view, need as much education as their children in uniform, walking into school: in trusting their children (to walk into class & not divert elsewhere), in respecting other drivers (who have equally important destinations to reach); in utilising well-planned parking spaces (that the developers had the foresight to create, for the convenience of waiting parents & to ease traffic).
• Public transport in Malaysia has not developed much because of this attitude: that parents need to send their children to school every day, in an empty car. Car-pooling would be a better option, taking the yellow school bus even better, and (where there is access) taking the public buses or LRT or MRT is another option (in fact a number of children STILL do this!). The anticipated benefits are: reducing the carbon footprint, reducing overall traffic, saving the cost of petrol for individual households
• Children need to be taught to be independent. A little 'hardship', like crossing the street, will build character: in today's scenario I am referring to young adults who are fully grown & independent enough to manage high school life- I do hope that all parents teach their children basic life skills for everybody's sake. Case in point: https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2020/01/09/chinese-woman-seeks-domestic-help-for-university-student-daughter-who-never-washed-clothes-or-cooked-before. In fact, many of the Gen X parents have walked/ cycled/ taken public transport to school in their (our) younger days. We turned out pretty alright, didn't we?

In the meantime, I will persevere and brave morning traffic in the best attitude possible. [This is why I look forward to smooth traffic during school holidays 👍]