Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Supervison and Security


A recent ‘Guardian’ piece explains the term ‘helicopter parents’, so-called because they hover over their children, interfering and directing their lives in a way that would embarrass standard pushy parents.

According to Paul Redmond, Head of Careers at Liverpool University, ‘Several high-profile graduate recruitments have reported incidents where parents have contacted them to negotiate a starting salary. Others have had parents contact them to complain about a ‘child’ who has been overlooked for promotion.

Here are ten other types of parent to look out for:

The Stealth Bomber – Mostly provides undetected parenting, but with little respect for personal boundaries. Can take child by surprise with dropping of emotional nuclear bombs.

The Bus – Open-door parents, whose ‘all-aboard’ attitude is great for the community but sometimes leaves offspring with ‘standing room only’ and hanging on to straps.

Cycle – practical and healthy, less good for intimacy needs. Leaves offspring with confusing ‘you’re on your own’ philosophy and hated by children of ‘cars’.

The Seg-Way – Will spearhead new and innovative approaches to child development, even at the cost of mass ridicule. Can come across as misguided, well-off, hippies who need more sarcastic friends.

Yacht – calm, relaxing parents that provide a stable environment for healthy development but are reliant on outside forces for direction and power.

‘Orse ‘n Cart – plodding, dour parenting, enlivened by the enjoyment of an outdoor lifestyle and a ‘get your finger out’ approach. Tend to produce un-ambitious children with permanently damaged subconscious / nasal passages.

The submarine – patrols offspring unseen, only surfacing at times of great emergency. Sometimes responsible for otherwise inexplicable disappearance of girl / boyfriends.

Coach – no thrills. Delivers children to destination adulthood intact, if with a few stops along the way; but they may feel slightly ill and have a nagging sense of emotional hunger.

Tube - can be efficient but prone to regular breakdowns. Produce competitive kids that are voracious readers but with inability to make eye contact.

Unicycle – Erratic parents whose eccentricity entertains outsiders but they terrorize those in close proximity, i.e. the kids. Prone to changing direction and bruised tibias.

2 comments:

Simon Argent said...

I can see myself overlapping in a couple of theses... All that is needed now is one of those websites where you are asked a number of questions and pigeon holed into a lifestyle.....

www.whattypeofcrapparentareyou.com

has a certain ring no?

Jeremiad1971 said...

Thanks for reading, Simon.

I'll see if that domain is registered.