01-05-2008, 02:13 AM
Can't sleep again, so I'm making another discussion thread 
The BBC website has a nice article today entitled "The Curse of the Meddling Parent", wherein an educational professional actually divides meddling parents into 5 distinct groups:
The Agent Having an Agent helicopter parent is like having Max Clifford working for you round the clock-for free. They operate like a footballer's agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. It's the Agent's job to represent his or her client at events which, for whatever reason, the client feels are simply too tedious to attend.
The Banker Accessible online, face-to-face or via a personal hotline, the Banker is unique in the world of financial services for charging no APR, asking few if any questions, expecting no collateral, and being psychologically inclined to say "yes" no matter how illogical or poorly articulated the request. The Banker is also resigned to never seeing loans repaid.
The White Knight Imbued with an almost semi-mythical status, the White Knight parent appears at little to no notice to resolve awkward situations. Once resolved, the White Knight will fade anonymously into the background. Intervention is accomplished silently and with minimum fuss.
The Bodyguard The primary function of the Bodyguard is to protect the client from a range of embarrassing social situations - such as cancelling appointments and soaking up complaints on behalf of their client. Particularly skilled in constructing elaborate excuses. When not protecting life, limb and reputation, doubles up as a chauffeur and personal assistant.
The Black Hawk Named after the military helicopter, and dreaded by teachers and educational administrators, the Black Hawk is unique among helicopter parents due to their willingness to go to any lengths - legal or illegal - to give their offspring a positional advantage over any competition. Particularly lethal when elected to parent-teacher associations.
***
The question is: do your parents fit into any of these categories? Please share your experiences to entertain us all. Naturally, none of the active members here are parents, nor will they tell your parents about it so it should be safe unless your parents spy on your internet activity as well; in which I'd say you're a hopeless case.
To answer my question, I'd say my mom is a white knight of sorts, but after she gives out help to fix a certain situation and fades into the background (where other people are concerned), there will be hell to pay when I get home D:
Oh, and if your parents aren't "helicopter parents", tell us as well so we can become jealous of your independence.
The BBC website has a nice article today entitled "The Curse of the Meddling Parent", wherein an educational professional actually divides meddling parents into 5 distinct groups:
The Agent Having an Agent helicopter parent is like having Max Clifford working for you round the clock-for free. They operate like a footballer's agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. It's the Agent's job to represent his or her client at events which, for whatever reason, the client feels are simply too tedious to attend.
The Banker Accessible online, face-to-face or via a personal hotline, the Banker is unique in the world of financial services for charging no APR, asking few if any questions, expecting no collateral, and being psychologically inclined to say "yes" no matter how illogical or poorly articulated the request. The Banker is also resigned to never seeing loans repaid.
The White Knight Imbued with an almost semi-mythical status, the White Knight parent appears at little to no notice to resolve awkward situations. Once resolved, the White Knight will fade anonymously into the background. Intervention is accomplished silently and with minimum fuss.
The Bodyguard The primary function of the Bodyguard is to protect the client from a range of embarrassing social situations - such as cancelling appointments and soaking up complaints on behalf of their client. Particularly skilled in constructing elaborate excuses. When not protecting life, limb and reputation, doubles up as a chauffeur and personal assistant.
The Black Hawk Named after the military helicopter, and dreaded by teachers and educational administrators, the Black Hawk is unique among helicopter parents due to their willingness to go to any lengths - legal or illegal - to give their offspring a positional advantage over any competition. Particularly lethal when elected to parent-teacher associations.
***
The question is: do your parents fit into any of these categories? Please share your experiences to entertain us all. Naturally, none of the active members here are parents, nor will they tell your parents about it so it should be safe unless your parents spy on your internet activity as well; in which I'd say you're a hopeless case.
To answer my question, I'd say my mom is a white knight of sorts, but after she gives out help to fix a certain situation and fades into the background (where other people are concerned), there will be hell to pay when I get home D:
Oh, and if your parents aren't "helicopter parents", tell us as well so we can become jealous of your independence.
