My brothers and I were raised by relaxed, confident parents who would tell us to "go outside, find something to do, and don't come back until dinnertime". We had fantastic adventures, got into a few typical minor scrapes, and made friends with kids we never would have met any other way. We had a happy, healthy, fun childhood.
Parenting styles have changed so much since then. It's very common to see parents schedule, supervise, monitor, "enrich" and micromanage almost every hour, every day of their children's lives. I don't understand why this happened. The world we live in didn't become more dangerous. The crime rate now is a lot lower, according to police and FBI statistics. The kids didn't become more stupid from one generation to the next.
What seems to have changed is the way we react. We are "pre-terrified" of all sorts of things. I've met parents who act like they truly believe that their children are in mortal danger all the time. I've also met parents who believe their children should never have to deal with any sort of failure or (gasp!) disappointment. I've heard of parents who continue this over-involvement when their kids go to college or to job interviews.
The thing is, I've worked for overly involved, micromanaging bosses who treated me the way helicopter parents treat their children. These were without a doubt the worst nightmare bosses to work for. Why would anyone raise their children using that same meddling, "crazy-making" management style? Why has this behavior become so common in the U.S?
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