How will snow-plow parenting affect the youth in the future?

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Bailee Jackson, Writer

We’ve heard of the infamous helicopter parents, but now get ready for the snow-plow parents. Worse than the helicopter parents, they shelter their children to the point where they don’t know how to facilitate in the real world. After the college scandal with Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin a conversation on the damage snow-plow parents can do to their children has started. So, how will this new type of overbearing parent affect their children in the future?

Mallori Sims, a senior at Westside, believes it will cause the children to fail. “They won’t be able to get a job, probably won’t even want to get one because they know their parents will take care of them.” This is not only un-healthy for the child, but it will also hurt the economy. There will be fewer functioning members of society than ever before. “Y’all are the future of this nation, you need to learn to be independent and problem solve” says Coach King. This is true, and according to the US census the percentage of kids still living with their parents between the ages of 24-44 nearly doubled to 17% from 1980 to 2010.

If snow-plow parenting continues, we’ll get a generation of “influencers” rather than engineers, scientists, and teachers, all necessary jobs for a society to flourish. The pressure isn’t just on our parents, it’s our job as well to take responsibility for our future. I believe there is still hope for us, Swedish teen Greta Thunberg is setting a great example as is the Parkland survivors who have gone across the country advocating for gun control.

While snow plow parents may be thinking they’re making it easier for their child to succeed by removing all obstacles, it actually harms them in the long run. It makes them incapable of solving problems by themselves, and handling stress. It’s hard to watch the ones we love grow frustrated and fail, but for the success of our society and for the success of your child, let them fail. It will only lead to success in the future.