Before reading the article think about the following:

A helicopter parent is one who “hovers” over his/ her children and watches everything the children do very closely.

Answer these questions:

• What is your opinion of helicopter parenting?
• What’s the opposite of a helicopter parent?
• What parenting style do you agree with? Why?
• What kinds of parents get a bad rap?
• What makes children go a little nuts?
• Did you experience sibling rivalry?
• How much screen time did your parents allow when you were young?
• Did one of your parents have to act as an arbiter in your disputes you had with the other parent?

Exercise 1

Vocabulary Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary among the words below.

intervene / autonomy / self-reliant / strive / veto / corresponds to / console / relentlessly

1. Successful people work {{{relentlessly}}} to reach their goals.

2. The police had to {{{intervene}}} in the street fight.

3. We hope our children grow up to be {{{self-reliant}}} and able to support themselves.

4. When coming to a decision, one party will often {{{veto}}} an option in order to come to a decision more quickly.

5. The girl had to {{{console}}} her brother who fell down at the park.

6. {{{Autonomy}}} is something he really likes about teaching. He is free to do what he likes as long as the students are learning.

7. We must {{{strive}}} to leave the world in a better place than we found it.

8. The U.S. Congress {{{corresponds to}}} the British Parliament.