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Helicopter Parents and Young Adults
Society has changed from when I was a kid
I was watching an old Bill Maher monologue on YouTube the other day. You can follow this link if you want to see it. As usual, it’s funny, but it’s also a bit sad.
According to Maher, 31% of parents wrote resumes on their children’s behalf. 15% of employers reported getting complaints from parents for not hiring their children.
This blows my mind.
When I was growing up, helicopter parents weren’t a thing. Not that parents didn’t care about children, but they knew kids had to become independent. They didn’t suffocate us.
Somehow we all survived.
I used to take long bike rides. I’d walk by myself to friends’ houses, ballet classes, or the library when I was 12. I took the subway to my high school when I was 14.
It’s not that my parents weren’t protective. When I was in kindergarten and first grade, my Mom or Dad walked me to school every morning and Mom walked me home after.
There was always a group of us kids and several parents who did this every day, so by the time I was in 2nd grade my parents felt comfortable letting me walk by myself.
