Helio
by Mantas Anastasia Elena
Children of today feel more pressure from friends, family, and society than ever before. Pressure to excel not just in school, but with friends, in sports, in the arts—activities that used to allow for freedom from pressure. As the stakes rise for children, parents feel, second-hand, an impending anxiety about their prosperity. Parents will do everything they can to protect their child and ensure that they succeed in life. However, is there a such thing as over-parenting?
What it means for the future
The term “helicopter parent” has been used to describe parents who have an excessive amount of involvement in their child’s life. Helicopter parenting has been shown to cause issues with confidence, problem solving, and emotional dependence that carry into adulthood. Children who grow up in this way struggle with understanding how to navigate the world and solve problems on their own. What would the world look like if an entire generation of people had this character?
Purpose of the project
This project aims to generate commentary on where the line is drawn between guidance and control. I want viewers to contemplate the effects of a parent’s involvement on a child’s creativity and freedom, and at what point a child deserves autonomy.
Product: Helio
The two imagined objects work together to discuss helicopter parenting both in person and remotely. The first illustrates a product whereby the parent would have more control than before, even though they are already beside their child. The other would provide parents a way to intrude remotely, when they aren’t physically nearby. Both objects provide materiality to the mental limitations of helicopter parenting.