helicopter parent
Also found in: Dictionary, Idioms.
A helicopter parent (also called a cosseting parent or simply a cosseter)[1] is a parent who pays extremely close attention to a child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. Helicopter parents are so named because, like helicopters, they hover overhead, overseeing their child's life.
Origins
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..."[2]
Foster Cline and Jim Fay coined "helicopter parent" in 1990.[3] The term "helicopter parent" gained wide currency when American college administrators began using it in the early 2000s as the oldest Millennials began reaching college age. Their baby-boomer parents earned notoriety for practices such as calling their children each morning to wake them up for class and complaining to their professors about grades the children had received.[4][5] Summer camp officials have also reported similar behavior from these parents.[6]
https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/helicopter+parent
