Drone Parenting? Yes, Really

     We've all heard about helicopter parents, to the point where it's become a cliche.* I read something the other day that I thought was a clever twist on this notion: that during college admission process, such parents go into full Cobra attack mode. I found myself wondering just how far could the comparisons go...and just how far would some parents go in their hovering.
     Then, this morning, I saw this Tweet:

Would you ever follow you child to school with a drone? This dad did: http://t.co/WU8p0Q17dR pic.twitter.com/p4kVEVAyOv
— Discover Magazine (@DiscoverMag) April 24, 2015

Sadly, I'm not as shocked as I probably should be. As I wish I could be. Now what's next? Constant surveillance? Tracking chips implanted? Technology that lets us know our children's every thought?
     If I were to boil down a parent's job to one point, it might be that we should aspire to prepare our children to lead autonomous lives of value. I really like what I heard another head of school say one time. When a child is in lower school, it's the parents' job to manage the child. In middle school, it's the child's job to fire the parents.And then our next career shouldn't be as pilots.

*I like another version that refers to snowplow parents who clear everything out of their child's way.