Helicopter Parenting, with Lenore Skenazy

Helicopter parents hover above their children, trying to protect them from getting hurt. 

And according to today's guest, it’s a worldwide trend that is contributing to increased anxiety amongst children. 

Lenore Skenazy, President of LetGrow.org, believes kids are more capable than we think. If we step back and give them more freedom, they will step up and work things out for themselves. 

In this interview, Lenore explains the cultural pressures that are causing helicopter parenting and provides some amusing examples of extreme helicopter parents she has encountered. 

Whilst there’s a fun element to this interview, it highlights an important issue. In order to develop resilient children, we need to give them space to be children and stop over-protecting them.  And dads have an important role to play in this process. 

What you’ll learn

• How Lenore earned the title of “America’s Worst Mom”
• Why she let her son take the New York subway alone when he was 9 years old
• What is Helicopter Parenting (also known as snow-ploughing or curling)
• What are the causes of helicopter parenting
• How helicopter parenting is contributing to child anxiety
• Some extreme examples of helicopter parents, including:
  • The mum who still spoon-fed her 10-year-old son
  • The boy who was only allowed to ride his skateboard on the grass\
• Why she founded the Free-Range Kids Movement
• Some of the programs offered by the Let Grow Foundation

More information
Show notes and links to resources mentioned in this interview are available at https://thedadtrain.com/29