Storytime! Grab your mats and blankies and listen close. Once upon a time, there was a college prof at a large state school who had one of her students corner her after class.
"Professor Martini," the student said, because that was his instructor's name. "Can you move the test on Wednesday?"
"No," said the professor, because she is mean.
"Then can you talk to my mom," the student said, holding his cell phone out. "She thinks that I have too much to study for on Wednesday and need to have something moved."
It's a true story, kids. Scary, isn't it?
But it's a story I keep coming back to when I read pieces about helicopter parenting, like this two-part interview with Hara Estroff Marano, author of Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting. Part one is on Crabmommy's Cookie blog. Part two is on Crabmommy's personal site.
I want to wave away all of Marano's points about hypervigilence and invasive parenting. Then I see myself trying to intervene in my kids' lives. And then I have conversations with my college students like the one above. Then I hang my head in shame.
So do you think we're becoming a "nation of wimps?"
Photo credit.
