A few weeks ago, Will asked me if I was a “helicopter parent”. That basically stopped me dead in my tracks. Oh my god… is this what he thinks of me? Maybe he thinks because I made Anja wear all the armour over her onesie for her first foray into the bike park that I’m over protective??
I asked him if he even knew what that meant. Sure, he said. It’s a parent who doesn’t let you do anything fun.
Right, then.
I followed this up by asking him if he thought this was the kind of parent I was (which would be odd, because generally I only some kind of vague idea of where the kids are at any given moment. They’re playing outside? Super! I hope they remembered sunscreen.)
No, no, he assured me. You’re pretty ok.
If that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.
Fast forward to tonight. I tell the kids to go blow off some steam so I can tidy up and get ready to end the day. It’s pretty loud outside… but not tears or screams of terror so essentially, all good. I wander out onto the deck to spy on them, and… behold:
Asked? And answered.
The SMO's stories 
what’s the opposite of helicopter parenting? ultralight parenting – the less baggage, the better? although, i’ve seen your backpack.