There's always a lot of talk on CC about helicopter parenting-what it is, how damaging it is, you all know what I'm talking about.
I tend to put myself in the "reformed helicopter parent" group, but a recent comment by Shonda Rhimes, the very powerful, very talented writer/director/producer of shows like Gray's Anatomy and Scandal, had me reconsidering what it means to be a protective parent.
The quote, (from this week's Entertainment Weekly): "My parents created a world in which the only barrier to your success is your own imagiantion. So that when I encountered something that felt like racism-like my high school guidance counselor saying to me "Honey, I don't think you were made for Ivy League schools"-I called my mom at work and said, "Mom, this lady says I'm ot made for Ivy League schools."
And my mother said, "Hold on, I'll be there in five minutes." My mom drove up to the school, walked into the guidance counselor's office, came out, and said "Everything's fine now." My parents were Gladiators."
So, what's the difference between a parent who's a gladiator, and a helicopter parent? How does one type potentially raise a strong child, and the other create a weak one?
↧