Helicopter Parents

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Were your parents overprotective?

Yes. I wasn't allowed to do anything by myself. I felt as if I were living in a bubble and in the times I did need to be protected (school) I wasn't.

My parents have always treated me as a fellow adult instead of a kid, so i never got the overprotective thing. Heck it was weird as a kid i had more insight on mature things than most kids, but now as an adult none of the things i say to people makes sense to them.

In my opinion, they are just the right amount of protective, and they give me just the right amount of freedom.

I get the feeling that my parents would have let me do pretty much anything within reason, if I'd shown even the slightest inclination of wanting to do so. I spent my adolescence in my room, by myself, downloading music and playing video games. I think they'd probably have been happy if I'd wanted to go out partying or whatever.

My parents were pretty typical parents, at least typical of Belgian parents. In my early years I was coerced into doing sports and going on play-dates, but once I expressed my dislike of those things they didn't bring it up again.
As a teenager aswell I was coerced into going out, mostly "chaperoned" by my uncle (who's only 11 years older than me) and again once I told them I didn't like going out they didn't push me.

Also of note, I grew up with 2 younger brothers, both of which neurotypical (though there are doubts about one of them), and my parents were fair to them aswell. They didn't let my disinterest in social activities skew their judgement for my brothers.

Yep, substitute reading, drawing and painting for video games and my situation was virtually identical. When I actually did have a friend or two and express interest in 'normal' behavior, they were thrilled and didn't ask too many questions.

When I was pre-adolescent, may Dad built me a tree house and a fort tower to encourage me to get out of the house - my Mom would sometimes lock me out of the house in good weather, just to get me to go outside. Of course, I wasn't allowed to leave the yard, but there wasn't really anywhere to go, and a lot less predatory pervs in those days.

Last edited by Willard on 21 Jul 2010, 4:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.

No, my parents always allowed my brother and I to be very independent. I guess in retrospect, that really bit them in the ass.

When I was little my parents would teach me what to do and what not to do. They would explain to me what could happen if I did not so things in safe manner. If I screwed up and managed to hurt myself after they sat there telling me not to do it they would say see that's what you get. Because of this I was very responsible at a young age. I knew if you did not listen or fooled around ignoring safety issues I would or someone else could get hurt because of my reckless actions. Its one of the reasons bosses liked me so much I always followed instructions to the letter and safety was always my mind.