Helicopter parent is a phrase that has become part of our language in the 21st century. It describes parents who hover over their children and make decisions for them and help fight their battles. Usually, I hear the phrase more on college campus tours as parents are more involved in their teen’s life when it comes to academics and the college admissions process. These parents do not let their teen do it alone, they supervise and redirect when necessary. So what is so wrong with that; isn’t that just part of being a caring, involved parent?
I hear it from our son’s counselor at school, from college admission officers and from friends. You need to stop hovering over your son, let him be, he will find his way, really! But let’s face the facts, teens are more interested in sports, dating, gaming or surfing the internet. If you want them to succeed in school and prep for college entrance exams; then you need to get involved.
Our oldest son is now a senior in high school and is looking pretty good in terms of being selected for admission to highly selective schools. He was selected as a National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist. He also stands a good chance of getting full or partial scholarships from highly ranked schools. However, do not think it was just his innate ability to well in school that got him to where he is today. When he is feeling honest, he will tell you that, if left to his own devices, he would have missed many a school day, forgotten to do homework, not studied for exams, or prepped for the PSAT, ACT or SAT. Parenting does not stop when they reach middle school, and if anything, teens need their parents more in high school. As school work gets harder and takes up more of their time, hormones are raging and responsibilities increase. It’s no surprise most teens are at a loss where to start with the college admissions process.
So it is no wonder that the College Board cited a Harvard Family Research Project finding that: teens whose parents play an active role do better in school and are more likely to enroll in college. Unfortunately, families tend to become less involved as their children progress through middle and high school. Your teenager might even welcome your participation. The College Board and the Art & Science Group found that almost 30 percent of college-bound seniors surveyed wished their parents did more to help them look for and apply to colleges. Only 6 percent wanted their parents to do less.
To read the full article go to www.collegeboard.com/parents/plan/getting-ready/155044.html , and you can also take the College Board Quiz to see if you are too involved in your student’s college admissions process. In the meantime, here are some more words to help your teen build up his/her vocabulary:
1. Threadbare (adj.) shabby
2. Thrive (verb) to flourish, prosper, succeed
3. Tirade (noun) lengthy speech, harshly censorious language
4. Tier (noun) row or rank
5. Titanic (adj.) huge, having a great magnitude
Word Count 695/3,000
