Portis 1

Deja Portis
Mr. Newman
English 101: Rhetoric
16 September 2014
Statement of Scope for the Annotated Bibliography
With the increase of child birth over the years, controversy over what kind of parenting
is best for raising a child has become very important. In particular, overbearing parents has
been the main focus. Those kind of parents are now being referred to as helicopter parents
because they tend to hover over their child. Places such as colleges and workforces look down
on helicopter parents, while other parents argue that being overbearing is beneficial to the
child. However, that just decreases the childs chances of being independent as an adult.
Although many parents of today believe that being overbearing is whats best for their child,
parents can actually do more harm for their child by being too involved because it can cause
them a variety of personal problems in the future.
This essay will explore the effects of overbearing parents on children. While being an
overbearing parent may seem like it is helping a child, it is unknowingly harming them. The
many things that makes a parent overbearing can hurt the childs future and their mindset. In
addition, I will go on to discuss how different ages of children have different outcomes from
their parents. Furthermore, I will explore the perspectives of those that believe overbearing
parents are good for children. Those individuals stress the fact that the levels of support from
parents improves a childs life as a young adult. Overall, my essay will provide multiple
examples that represent both sides of supporting overbearing parents and opposing them.
This selected bibliography includes sources that argues how being an overbearing
parent is beneficial to children. Along with that it includes those that oppose overbearing
parents. The Pittman and Chase-Lansdale article supports helicopter parents and explains how
certain levels of parenting can benefit children. The Manos article discusses the downsides of
being or having an overbearing parent. The article The Pressure from Parents explains how
certain parenting skills contribute to psychological problems in children. The article Helicopter
Parenting Can Be a Good Thing goes into details about the long term benefits of overbearing
parents on children. Lastly, the article by Amy addresses the bad side of overbearing parents
because it does not allow them to mature.

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Works Cited
Amy. "Teens can't mature if helicoptering parents won't let them." McClatchy - Tribune Business
News [Stroudsbourg , PA] 18 Apr. 2014: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. This
article discusses how teens can't mature with overbearing parents. It gives examples of
things they will not mature in such as waking themselves up for school instead of mom
having to come in and do it. It also says that overbearing parents can cause alot of
embarrasment for the child within the home when it comes to having to talk to their
family about certain topics or just to express their feelings.
Anonymous. "Helicopter Parenting Can Be a Good Thing." USA Today 1 May 2010: n. pag.
elibrary. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. This source discusses how being a "helicopter parent" can
be a good thing for their children. It uses examples of how the support of parents has
increased in 20 years and has improved the lives of young adults. Along with that it goes
into details about certain things the parent helps with that benefits the child.
- - -. "The Pressure From Parents." Blues Buster 1 Mar. 2004: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 15 Sept.
2014. This article discusses how being a helicopter parent puts a lot of pressure on the
child. It goes into how those kind of parents contribute to psychological problems in their
children. However the article also throws in that overall it may be a healthy development
due to the need for care from parents to children.
Manos, Mary Ann. "Helicopter Parents: Empathetic or Pathetic?" Phi Kappa Phi Forum 1 Oct.
2009: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. In this article Manos discusses the downside
of having or being an overbearing parent. It gives views of how colleges and workplaces
look at the "adult child" and the overbearing parent. Overall it is saying that no one really

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accepts helicopter parents when the child is going higher up in education or in the
workforce.
Pittman, Laura D., and Lindsay P. Chase-Lansdale. "Welfare reform and parenting: Reasonable
expectations." The Future of Children 1 Jan. 2002: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Pittman and Chase-Lansdale discuss how strong parenting is important for children. They
argue that overbearing parents are just doing their job and what they need to do to ensure
their child will grow up right. They gave different examples of how the different levels of
parenting affects different things within their children.