#11: Overprotective Parents and Snow Plow Parents – Is the Opposite Better?

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It’s funny that every day I seem to see something in the news on in a blog that has to do with a parent being an over achiever.  Yes that’s right, an over achiever.  The hot words or phrases in the news continue to be how helicopter parents, over protective parents, and snowplow parents are causing harm to their children.  Either the sources continue to write content to gain attention or they would rather bash parents that care too much rather then the ones that couldn’t raise a plant.

There is an illusion of perfect parenting that parents try to reach.  Some try so hard to be good parents that they make the parents that don’t try, feel inadequate.  It’s kind of like the kids that aren’t good at something making fun of the ones that are.   In this case it’s parents that define parenting different from the ones that are involved.

If a helicopter parent is a parent that hovers over their children and a snowplow parent is a parent that moves barriers that a child has.  What is the alternative? What else besides the unattainable perfect parenting status is their?  Below is a list of parenting profiles I thought might be of some interest.  I am not judging these types of parents, but they are out there.

Party Parent

This is the parent that continues to go to bars two to three times a week without fail. Rather than spend time with their children they would much rather count the minutes to where they can socialize with anyone other than their children.

Workaholic parent

Money and things are very important to this parent.  Rather than lower the standard of living this parent would rather work every day to support a specific lifestyle then to slow down and spend time with their children.  Their children grow up never really having a connection with this parent because they only spend time with them after work because that is all the time they have left.

The Hobby Parent

This parent has one or many hobbies that don’t include their children or family. It might be golf or some kind of league that consumes any extra time that they have.

The Nonparticipating Parent

This is the parent that rarely participates in a child’s life.  They drop their child off at their baseball games and don’t go out of their way to learn anything about what their child is doing.  They find out their child is doing poor in school only after the report card comes home with the child.  They couldn’t see their child struggling because they decided not to participate actively in their life.

The Buddy Parent

Forget parenting.  This parent is more concerned about being their child’s best friend.  They don’t parent or instruct.  They are more focused on not upsetting their child rather than providing structure.
All types of parenting produce and contribute to the growth of a child.  As I write this I have a hard time thinking of very many children that have problems because they were loved too much, or children growing up with issues because their parents paid too much attention to them.  Are their kids complaining that their parents support them emotionally too much?

I am not a perfect parent despite the razzing I get from my two co-hosts on the American Dad Podcast.  I do my best to try to fit in the happy medium of parenting that doesn’t exist.  So call me the overprotective parent, helicopter parent or snowplow parent.  I will thank you.

Until next time,

Andrew the Overprotective Parent