So would this be "helicopter parenting"?

[Maleficent13]

I hear that term here a lot but admit I have never "looked it up" to see what it actually means.

So this morning I hear a story about a high school football player. Apparently, last night there was a game, their team was losing by a large margin, so halfway through the game, the mom marched down to the coach on the field and told him to take her kid out of the game because he was tired and achy and there was nothing more he could do for them anyway as they were losing by such a large margin.

Um...I admit it's been a long time since high school, but in my time something like this would have elicted reactions from all involved, and the kid would have disowned his mom and never lived down the embarrassment.

I was just surprised at it.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Yeah, sounds like it.

Poor kid -- can you imagine the level of humiliation a high school football player would take if mommy went to talk to his coach in the middle of a game.

 

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

My son would have strangled me (and rightfully so) if I had interfered in one of his baseball games like that. That's more than helicopter parenting to me.

 

[DVCLiz]

Horrifying - I'm just trying to imagine how my teen daughter would have reacted if I'd ever marched over to her volleyball coach and pulled that. At a bare minimum, she wouldn't have spoken to me for...like a year or two.

You both still have little children, but when they get older and you witness this kind of stuff first-hand, you'll really appreciate what a good parent you have been!!!

 

[dejavu]

Yes that would be it! My DD attends a big 10 university and there are parents who call the professors!! We had a afternnoon "class" when she was a freshman about letting go- I guess some parents want to live their kids lives for them- I pity these kids they will never learn to fend for themselves. Poor kid.

 

[Luv'sTink]

I don't think you have enough of the story to really know. The kid could have been sick going into the game but played because he was needed. Been there done that!

 

[mickeyfan2]

You got it. A true helicopter parent.

 

[sajetto]

Thats a helicopter parent if there ever was one and I'm sure that poor kid is never going to live it down

 

[LBAK]

I would have been disowned as a mother! Even now my 11 yo DD doesn't want me talking to her coach. By high school kids know how they feel, mom shouldn't need to step in.

 

[kejoda]

How does she know he is tired and achy?

Geez Kevin was horrified when I discussed his broken wrist with the coach. I can't imagine what he would do if I did that too him.

Maybe the Mother should of brought him a lounge chair and pillow. Lets not forget the blankie and slippers for his feeties.

 

[Bob Slydell]

You both still have little children, but when they get older and you witness this kind of stuff first-hand, you'll really appreciate what a good parent you have been!!!

Trust me, it doesn't wait until they're older these days. I coach my 6 year old's soccer team. When he was 4, I got a call after the first week of the season from the dad of one of my players who chided me for 15 minutes about how poorly I coached because his son cried during the first week and never wanted to play soccer again.

 

[DVCLiz]

I don't think you have enough of the story to really know. The kid could have been sick going into the game but played because he was needed. Been there done that!

Umm, no...If this kid is in high school, he should be old enough to handle this on his own, without mommy coming to the rescue. Once they enter high school sports, a parent should sit on the sidelines and cheer, but otherwise stay out of it.

One of the hardest lessons I ever had to learn as a parent was to let the coach be the coach. DD was 6 or 7, in soccer and she would get knocked down or smacked around, and my first instinct was to rush onto the field and be the mom. I MADE myself sit there and watch while the coach handled it appropriately.

You're not doing your child any favors if you behave this way, in my opinion...

Ha! Just read your soccer post - the world of preschool soccer must be a training ground for the business world...or terrorists. It was INTENSE - and some of those parents were nutcases of the first degree.

 

[debster812]

Trust me, it doesn't wait until they're older these days. I coach my 6 year old's soccer team. When he was 4, I got a call after the first week of the season from the dad of one of my players who chided me for 15 minutes about how poorly I coached because his son cried during the first week and never wanted to play soccer again.

First off--thanks for coaching!!!! DS has been playing since age 5, and is now a U10. We only have 4 U10 boys teams each with 15 kids on a team, because we could not get any more coaches in our league.

That parent was a doofus. There are TONS of 4YOs who just are not ready to play any kind of organized sport. Most of them still have the attention spat of a gnat.

To the OP--yes, that is indeed helicopter parenting at it's finest. That poor kid.

 

[yeartolate]

That young man probably will be harrassed at school for this for quite awhile.

His mom figuratively castrated him.

The coached dropped the ball (so to speak) if he did not put the mom in her place.

 

[AKLRULZ]

Wow, I'm the parent of a high school football player and there is no way I'd ever interfere with the coach during the game. If I had an issue I'd address it privately.

I bet this kid not only gets humilated by his peers, but the coach won't play him much.

 

[mickeysgal]

My son would have strangled me (and rightfully so) if I had interfered in one of his baseball games like that. That's more than helicopter parenting to me.

Ok - I have a helicoptering moment. My teen was in a swim meet which was supposed to be held at an outdoor pool. Due the the weather, they switched it to an indoor pool. He was slotted to swim a 25 yd freestyle and the officials decided to start that particular race in the shallow end of the pool. They were going to have to dive from the side of the pool (no starting blocks on that end) into the 3 foot end of the pool. DS is over 6 ft tall and tends to dive a bit deeper than he should. His dive, at that time, wasn't as flat as it should be for a racing dive. I talked to the coach and pulled him from the race. I cared not one ounce whether the coach was mad or whether my son was mad. We've been swimming competitively for years - since the kids were very small, and this is the first and only time I've interferred. I felt he was being put in a dangerous situation. By the way, DH was there also and 100% agreed with me. To this day, I can't believe they allowed this particular race to be run like this. I'm not talking small 5 year olds that still flop onto the water, I'm talking high school kids that know how to dive competitively. Thats just too shallow for safety's sakes.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

Trust me, it doesn't wait until they're older these days. I coach my 6 year old's soccer team. When he was 4, I got a call after the first week of the season from the dad of one of my players who chided me for 15 minutes about how poorly I coached because his son cried during the first week and never wanted to play soccer again.

I believe it. I am the mom to a few little soccer players myself, my God what are some of these parents thinking? Between the ones that are screaming at the kids like lunatics to do better and the ones that are *****ing and moaning about the coaches, GET A GRIP PEOPLE they are 6 years old!!!

 

[arminnie]

Maybe the Mother should of brought him a lounge chair and pillow. Lets not forget the blankie and slippers for his feeties.

Don't forget the pacifier. Please let us hope she is not still trying to breastfeed to comfort him.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Umm, no...If this kid is in high school, he should be old enough to handle this on his own, without mommy coming to the rescue. Once they enter high school sports, a parent should sit on the sidelines and cheer, but otherwise stay out of it.

One of the hardest lessons I ever had to learn as a parent was to let the coach be the coach. DD was 6 or 7, in soccer and she would get knocked down or smacked around, and my first instinct was to rush onto the field and be the mom. I MADE myself sit there and watch while the coach handled it appropriately.

You're not doing your child any favors if you behave this way, in my opinion...

Even my 8yo would be mortified if I did something like the mom in the OP. She's quite capable of telling her coach if she doesn't feel well enough to play, whether that feeling came on before or after the game.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Yup, I think that that's classic helecopter parenting!