I found it interesting Sunday morning to read a fairly long article on so-called "helicopter parenting" in today's Northwest Herald, followed closely by a story in the Daily Herald about a proposal to lower the state-mandated age for children to start first grade, if they've had private schooling.
Later, I will relate why I consider them connected. First, I'm still sort of fascinated by this term "helicopter parenting." I didn't realize the phrase was coined 20 years ago by Jim Fay, co-founder of the Golden, Colo.-based Love and Logic Institute, and of whom I am a big fan.
Fay's thought is too many parents step in to solve problems for their children, thereby never teaching them to solve the problems on their own. I'm fascinated because I catch myself doing it sometimes.
It's probably a primal instinct for parents, perhaps dating to cave people who rubbed two sticks together because Junior was taking too long. But when those same children turn out to be ineffective and wishy-washy adults, their parents probably didn't do them any favors.
So, on to the next article. A suburban Chicago lawmaker is proposing lowering the age to enter first grade to 5 (as long as the child turns 6 by Dec. 31) if the child has attended private kindergarten. As you'll see from the article, it stems from this state lawmaker's own struggle to get his daughter into first grade in a public school after she'd attended kindergarten in a private school.
This strikes me as "helicopter parenting" a bit. With all due respect, don't we have educators who are trained to assess whether a child is ready for certain grades?
I could see a law to allow more flexibility on the part of educators, so grade-level decisions aren't tied to an age. But that may already exist. That's why I'd rather have them do it than me.
By the way, according to the Daily Herald story, several local educators are pointing out that this change would not help anything. In fact, it may push children who really aren't ready, they say.
To a certain extent, it's understandable how lawmakers may want to make changes to laws based on their own personal experiences. But I think they should stop and ask themselves if it's really necessary, and good for the public as a whole.
What do you think? Please feel free to leave a comment. Or to send me a message, e-mail me at AmyMcLaughlinMaciaszek@gmail.com.
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