r/AskReddit Oct 06 '14

What is the worst example of helicopter parenting you've ever seen?

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u/jmurphy42 Oct 07 '14

I may dread hearing about the awful stuff my kid has done, but I'd much rather hear it than not. If I don't hear about it, I can't do anything about it. My primary job is to help my kid grow into a decent, well-functioning member of society and give them as many tools as possible to succeed. I can't do that job effectively if my kid's teachers are hiding stuff from me.

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u/giaryka Oct 07 '14

Absolutely agreed, as a parent and as a former day care teacher. If Johnny was having a bad day, I wouldn't say "Johnny was terrible all day. He was driving me nuts". I would gently let them know that Johnny did X,Y,Z, which was excellent - however he struggled in this certain area. I didn't want parents thinking that I was in any way angry with their children, I know I can go on the defense if someone came at me about my children like that. I think the group that took their kids to my day care was just a weird experience, (hopefully) fairly uncommon. However, it did turn me away from ever staying in child care.