How to Use helicopter parent in a Sentence

helicopter parent

noun
  • There weren’t as many helicopter parents in those days, and a lot of people lost track of their children.
    — Curbed Editors, Curbed, 23 June 2026
  • But not if Payton is a helicopter parent.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Today, parents are very involved in what their kids read—the whole helicopter parent thing.
    — Leo Deluca, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Oct. 2021
  • Wade is aware of the critics who deem him a helicopter parent and contend the players should fight their own battle.
    — Teddy Greenstein, chicagotribune.com, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Over the years, we’ve been introduced to koala moms, helicopter parents, and free-range caregivers.
    — Hannah Silverman, Parents, 8 Aug. 2025
  • June also has to deal with Aunt Lydia, who is a helicopter parent.
    — refinery29.com, 9 May 2018
  • As a single mother, Caballero didn’t have time to be a helicopter parent.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2022
  • For example, when kids are young, being a helicopter parent might lead to fewer bumps and bruises.
    — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 8 Apr. 2019
  • By his own admission, Ken was something of a helicopter parent.
    — Tyler Hicks, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025
  • The first is the helicopter parent leader, constantly stepping in to fix problems for their team.
    — Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
  • Sorry, helicopter parents, but your fledgling college student could be cutting you loose.
    — Steve Annear, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2018
  • The paradigmatic helicopter parent hovered from a distance and in most cases didn’t follow their child to college.
    — Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Martinez spoke thoroughly on the topic of not being a helicopter parent, rather guiding children to their own results.
    — Morgan Kromer, The Washington Examiner, 20 June 2025
  • Canadian Shane is mild-mannered, sheltered and bred for his success by his hockey helicopter parents.
    — Sandra Gonzalez, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
  • The mom of this local family is a helicopter parent extraordinaire who wants our kids to be friends and travel together.
    — oregonlive, 9 Sep. 2021
  • Unlike a helicopter parent, a lighthouse parent allows their kids to make decisions and learn to deal with the consequences of their choices.
    — Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 11 Oct. 2024
  • Skenanzy started a movement to encourage parents to stop being helicopter parents.
    — Amy Morin, Parents, 5 Mar. 2026
  • These were working architects and midcentury parents who were not helicopter parents.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, latimes.com, 25 June 2019
  • Well, one man from Tennessee may have become the world’s first literal helicopter parent after following his daughter to school with a drone.
    — Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 2015
  • On the spectrum of parenting styles, lighthouse parenting hovers right around the middle—not as involved as a helicopter parent, but not as hands-off as a free-range parent.
    — Alex Vance, Parents, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Crucially—and unlike most hotels of this ilk—the Grand Park is not concerned with keeping you held within its crosshairs at all times, like a helicopter parent.
    — Jonnie Bayfield, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
  • If a helicopter parent is coupled with a free-range parent, the pair may benefit from working with a therapist or coach to create balance within the family.
    — Caroline Silver, Parents, 17 Aug. 2023
  • And the proud human mamas and papas monitoring the 6-inch-long venomous snakes hover over the youngsters — though at a safe distance — like helicopter parents.
    — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Oct. 2019
  • Welcome to 2018, when people are living so long that baby boomers, the original helicopter parents, have helicopters of their own.
    — Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 10 May 2018
  • My mother, Nurse Vivian, had been a helicopter parent since Leonardo da Vinci designed the aerial screw.
    — Kevin Fisher-Paulson, SFChronicle.com, 21 Oct. 2019
  • The same goes for the millions of other helicopter parents and tiger moms who pay private-school tuition in hopes of getting their child into First Choice University.
    — Andrew G. Biggs, National Review, 2 Dec. 2019
  • His book gives us parents a bit of hope and more importantly, encouragement to play an active role in our children’s educations without becoming helicopter parents.
    — Teresa M. Pelham, courant.com, 28 Apr. 2018
  • Nothing the Carters said approached LaVar Ball-level outrageousness, but helicopter parents are best to avoid landing in the headlines.
    — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, 27 June 2018
  • Compared to the jellyfish parent which can be permissive to a fault and the helicopter parent who might be too overbearing, the elephant parent is typically flexible and adaptable to their child’s needs.
    — Anna Earl, Parents, 2 July 2025
  • And while schools — college campuses, even — are rife with horror stories of helicopter parents, the damage from this overwrought behavior is particularly jaw-dropping on the courts and playing fields.
    — Ana Veciana-Suarez, miamiherald, 2 Apr. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'helicopter parent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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