It was very interesting to see how both my father and brother had two very different opinions how parenting should be. Both had a blend of traditional and progressive views in their ideas of parenting.

My father believed in promoting independence in his children by encouraging activities and responsibilities to be done on their own. He tried to control as little as possible in terms of limitations or expectations, allowing his children to set expectations for themselves. He fell more in the category of paramedic parents. His parenting style valued the children’s own development of character and values and gave them opportunities to succeed while also developing independence with a strong sense of personal drive for their academics and career.

On the other hand, my brother firmly believed in high parental involvement, closer to helicopter parenting mentioned in class. In Hamilton’s Parenting to a Degree, helicopter parenting was defined to be a parenting style that was very overprotective over their children. They would “hover” over their child’s activities, very hyperaware of everything. This type of parents are tireless advocates for their children’s success but somewhat in a negative manner. He fell right into the stereotype of “tiger parents” and can be categorized as a professional helicopter parent.