Meaning of 'helicopter parent'

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helico
pter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Unlike a seagull manager, who files in, shits over everyone and flies
out again.

Peter.

--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist) (AUE Pt)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk

Horace LaBadie

2017-08-06 17:58:02 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom
/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

It's a parent who hovers over the children.

Not sure how Mac's mother could have hovered before there were
helicopters. Maybe in a hot air balloon.

Richard Heathfield

2017-08-06 18:12:07 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom
/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

It's a parent who hovers over the children.
Not sure how Mac's mother could have hovered before there were
helicopters. Maybe in a hot air balloon.

Macarthur was born in 1880.

A French guy came up with the word "helicopter" almost twenty years
before that, and the first helicopter flight was in 1878. It was a UAV,
and under the miraculous power of steam it climbed nearly 15 yards into
the air and maintained a hover for a good 20 seconds.

The first /manned/ helicopter flight was in 1901, but at 21 years old
Macarthur was almost certainly out of nappies by then.

--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

2017-08-06 19:49:34 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom
/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

It's a parent who hovers over the children.
Not sure how Mac's mother could have hovered before there were
helicopters. Maybe in a hot air balloon.

Macarthur was born in 1880.
A French guy came up with the word "helicopter" almost twenty years
before that, and the first helicopter flight was in 1878. It was a UAV,
and under the miraculous power of steam it climbed nearly 15 yards into
the air and maintained a hover for a good 20 seconds.
The first /manned/ helicopter flight was in 1901, but at 21 years old
Macarthur was almost certainly out of nappies by then.

However, the earliest quotation for "helicopter parent in the OED is
much more recent:

1989 Frederick (Maryland) News-Post 6 Sept. b1/4 But don't be
what Mr. Radovich calls ‘a helicopter parent’, who hovers over
children, making sure everything is done for them.

That quotation appears in a number of newpapers at about that time. One
Google search result is:

The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana on August 28, 1989
...
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/105130141/
28 Aug 1989 - But don't be what Radovich calls "a helicopter
parent," who hovers over children, making sure everything is done
for them. Don't ask them if ...

The article as shown on that webpage doesn't say who Radovich is.

Wikipedia has a different origin:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent

Foster Cline and Jim Fay coined "helicopter parent" in 1990.

It also says:

The metaphor appeared as early as 1969 in the bestselling book
Between Parent & Teenager by Dr. Haim Ginott, which mentions a teen
who complains: "Mother hovers over me like a helicopter..."

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

Richard Heathfield

2017-08-06 20:47:51 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom
/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

It's a parent who hovers over the children.
Not sure how Mac's mother could have hovered before there were
helicopters. Maybe in a hot air balloon.

Macarthur was born in 1880.
A French guy came up with the word "helicopter" almost twenty years
before that, and the first helicopter flight was in 1878. It was a UAV,
and under the miraculous power of steam it climbed nearly 15 yards into
the air and maintained a hover for a good 20 seconds.
The first /manned/ helicopter flight was in 1901, but at 21 years old
Macarthur was almost certainly out of nappies by then.

However, the earliest quotation for "helicopter parent in the OED is

I don't doubt it for a second.

But that doesn't mean Mrs Macarthur /wasn't/ a 'helicopter parent'. It
just means she wasn't called one during her lifetime. (Of course it
doesn't mean she /was/ a helicopter parent either. I have no opinion on
that question.)

It is commonplace for us to retroactively ascribe labels to people that
would not have been applied to them in their own lifetimes. Two of my
favourite examples occur in George Bernard Shaw's Preface to "Androcles
and the Lion", in which he writes:

"Decidely, whether you think Jesus was God or not, you must admit that
he was a first-rate political economist."

The other example is a chapter title (say what you like about GBS, but
there's something very special about a man who needs chapter titles in a
Preface!), and it's simply this: "Jesus joins the Baptists".

--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

2017-08-07 11:56:03 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom
/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

It's a parent who hovers over the children.
Not sure how Mac's mother could have hovered before there were
helicopters. Maybe in a hot air balloon.

Macarthur was born in 1880.
A French guy came up with the word "helicopter" almost twenty years
before that, and the first helicopter flight was in 1878. It was a UAV,
and under the miraculous power of steam it climbed nearly 15 yards into
the air and maintained a hover for a good 20 seconds.
The first /manned/ helicopter flight was in 1901, but at 21 years old
Macarthur was almost certainly out of nappies by then.

However, the earliest quotation for "helicopter parent in the OED is

I don't doubt it for a second.
But that doesn't mean Mrs Macarthur /wasn't/ a 'helicopter parent'. It
just means she wasn't called one during her lifetime. (Of course it
doesn't mean she /was/ a helicopter parent either. I have no opinion on
that question.)
It is commonplace for us to retroactively ascribe labels to people that
would not have been applied to them in their own lifetimes. Two of my
favourite examples occur in George Bernard Shaw's Preface to "Androcles
"Decidely, whether you think Jesus was God or not, you must admit that
he was a first-rate political economist."

What's more, we retroactively ascribe labels to people in languages that
didn't even exist at their time. What is "political economist" in the
Aramaic of Jesus's time?

Post by Richard Heathfield
The other example is a chapter title (say what you like about GBS, but
there's something very special about a man who needs chapter titles in a
Preface!), and it's simply this: "Jesus joins the Baptists".

Is that a reference to the occasion when someone named John saw Jesus as
a rival and pushed him in a river, but Jesus managed to escape?

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

Peter T. Daniels

2017-08-07 14:15:05 UTC

Is that a reference to the occasion when someone named John saw Jesus as
a rival and pushed him in a river, but Jesus managed to escape?

Hey!

You just committed eisegesis!

b***@aol.com

2017-08-11 01:54:34 UTC

Is that a reference to the occasion when someone named John saw Jesus as
a rival and pushed him in a river, but Jesus managed to escape?

Hey!
You just committed eisegesis!

Or maybe he read the story in the eyes o'Jesus.

Hen Hanna

2017-08-06 19:13:41 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

helicopter parents :
i had an image of Two parents who swing around
to propell the child (or nuc. family) skywards.

i bet many younger folks have never heard of
"refrigerator mother(s)"

HH

Jerry Friedman

2017-08-07 02:25:37 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

The phrase is much used in the education business to mean an object of
horror, which is not caused by the helicopter parent's attention to the
child's problems but by the parent's attempts to solve them.

--
Jerry Friedman

J. J. Lodder

2017-08-07 07:41:31 UTC

Post by Jerry Friedman

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-m

om/

Post by Jerry Friedman

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Merely their insistence on being there is already a nuisance,

Jan

Janet

2017-08-07 12:52:28 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

Janet.

Anders D. Nygaard

2017-08-12 15:33:58 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforældre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

/Anders, Denmark.

Jerry Friedman

2017-08-12 15:59:31 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforældre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

I've never heard it. I think it would take me a while to associate it
with the sport instead of curling hair or some such.

--
Jerry Friedman

Janet

2017-08-12 17:34:53 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforældre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

No doubt the sweeping goes on but I've never heard a name for it.

Janet.

Lewis

2017-08-12 18:51:52 UTC

Post by Dingbat
General MacArthur Had a Helicopter Mom | Lisa's History Room
https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/11/23/general-macarthur-had-a-helicopter-mom/
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)
is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's
experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforældre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

Nope. And in AmE the curling reference would be unintelligible to nearly
everyone.

--
"Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently
programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest." - Isaac
Asimov

Peter T. Daniels

2017-08-12 19:35:14 UTC

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforældre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

Horace LaBadie

2017-08-12 19:40:53 UTC

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforÃŠldre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I suppose Richard Dean Anderson might understand it, although he's more
known for hockey among the ice sports. (Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

Peter T. Daniels

2017-08-12 19:47:27 UTC

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforældre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I suppose Richard Dean Anderson might understand it, although he's more
known for hockey among the ice sports. (Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

The original McGyver?

Horace LaBadie

2017-08-12 21:00:23 UTC

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforÃŠldre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I suppose Richard Dean Anderson might understand it, although he's more
known for hockey among the ice sports. (Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

The original McGyver?

Yep.
And the second Jack O'Neill.

musika

2017-08-12 21:20:36 UTC

Post by Horace LaBadie
I suppose Richard Dean Anderson might understand it, although he's more
known for hockey among the ice sports. (Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

The original McGyver?

Yep.
And the second Jack O'Neill.

Actually the first Jack O'Neill - Kurt Russell was Jack O'Neil.
I wonder who missed that mistake and was it in the film or in SG1.

--
Ray
UK

Cheryl

2017-08-12 20:32:32 UTC

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforÃ¦ldre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I suppose Richard Dean Anderson might understand it, although he's more
known for hockey among the ice sports. (Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

It's certainly possible in Canada - I have never curled, but I've seen
it done. The phrase isn't used, though. People would take it literally -
the parent curls.

--
Cheryl

Lars Enderin

2017-08-12 22:11:13 UTC

Post by Cheryl

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforÃ¦ldre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I suppose Richard Dean Anderson might understand it, although he's more
known for hockey among the ice sports. (Minneapolis, Minnesota.)

It's certainly possible in Canada - I have never curled, but I've seen
it done. The phrase isn't used, though. People would take it literally -
the parent curls.

It works in Danish and Swedish because we have no other natural
association for "curl" or "curling". I e, "curling" is a Danish and
Swedish word which refers to the sport and nothing else. I guess the
Danish term also works in Norwegian.

--
Lars Enderin

bill van

2017-08-12 22:50:04 UTC

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforÃŠldre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I don't following curling closely, but I watch a few ends during
national and world championship tournaments from time to time. I have
not heard that expression.

--
bill

Cheryl

2017-08-12 22:56:58 UTC

Post by bill van

Post by Dingbat
Helicopter parent - Wikipedia

Another definition would be, an over-protective parent who constantly
hovers over their "baby", some do it even after baby flew the nest.

A very similar term in Danish is "curling parent" (curlingforÃ¦ldre),
meaning parents who make sure to sweep any obstacles away from their
childrens' path.
Is that also known in English?

It could be possible in Canadian English.

I don't following curling closely, but I watch a few ends during
national and world championship tournaments from time to time. I have
not heard that expression.

I didn't mean that we use the expression "curling parent", but that we
would be able to figure it out when we heard it since many of us are
familiar with the way brooms are used in curling.

--
Cheryl

Horace LaBadie

2017-08-09 21:31:18 UTC