Mom to the rescue? Not so much.

I've noticed a lot of articles recently about "helicopter parents." You know them- maybe you are one. They're the parents who watch every move their kid makes, swooping in to the save the day or fix any and all problems, making use of their awesome swirling blades to blow everything back in the "right" direction.

It's a little annoying, but harmless, right?

Hmm.

At every school we visited over the last few years, the issue of helicopter parents was addressed. Schools realize that parents not only want to be involved and aware of what's happening on campus, but they also feel entitled to know, seeing as they're often paying the bills. But colleges are in the business of producing well-rounded responsible adults. How do they learn responsibility if mom and dad are always fixing things?

As parents, it's hard to go from being the most important person in your child's life to a mere sideline player. But for the kid's sake, we have to make the effort to step back. For us, it means we are there if things go haywire, but we won't leap into action at each misstep. Responsibility is gained from learning and experiencing the consequences of irresponsibility. And yes, they'll be irresponsible. You were, right?

If you recognize yourself as a helicopter parent, you can start pulling back little by little now. If your child does poorly in a class, tell him to speak to the teacher, don't call the teacher yourself. If she gets a speeding ticket, make sure she pays the fine herself. Believe me, he wants to be trusted to do the right thing on his own. She wants to be able to say yeah, I screwed up, but I fixed it, too.