When I was growing up, some of my friends had over-protective parents--parents who marched over to school if a low grade or negative report was sent about their child, parents who labored with their children over the homework or had their kids call home every hour or so if they went out with friends for the evening--and this was well before cell phones. With the haze of hindsight, I saw the hovering come to an end by the time my friends went off to college.
Today we call it helicopter parenting and many colleges report that it doesn't stop when the kids leave home and become college students. Now it's not just phone calls; it's also texting and Facebook and social media check ups. And in-person interference. Parents have even been spotted crashing Freshman meet-ups.
Studies from academia suggest the perils our children face when we hover, helicopter or otherwise over-protect. They may end up unable to make decisions for themselves, to accept responsibility for their lives, to adjust to the demands of the workplace.
A list of the 10 detrimental effects from helicopter parenting--along with notations of the academic studies--are in this blog. Read it and hope you don't see yourself there.