Mike Kraynak

Ok, I admit that the promise of posting a response to your votes "next week" might have been more accurately written "I'll update my blog in about 7 weeks"... but thanks anyway for your feedback and votes.  Obviously "The Office" comes out on top - by a landslide.  Now, in the course of these last few weeks, the best thing that I can report about The Office is that Carol got me the best gift ever - an official Dunder Mifflin Paper Company T-shirt!  Whenever I wear it, I spend half the day in conversation with total strangers quoting our favorite lines from the show.  Carol read online however, that one owner of a similar T-shirt was approached by (a totally sincere) person who said "Oh wow, I work for a paper company too..."  Where do you even begin?  

It's been so long since I updated my blog!  Problem is, I have too many topics floating around in my mind and I can't decide which one to write about... So, in honor of the fact that we are in an election season, I've decided to put it to a vote.  Which of these sound the most interesting to you?  My recent trip to downtown Pittsburgh and how it's better than downtown Cleveland in every way, the Presidential election, or my thoughts on the season finale of The Office.  I'll post a response next week for the top vote-getter.  Remember the old saying: "Vote early, vote often"...    

“Helicopter Parents”: Have you heard of this term? Wickipedia defines it as “a term for a person who pays extremely close attention to his or her child or children, particularly at educational institutions. They rush to prevent any harm or failure from befalling them or letting them learn from their own mistakes, sometimes even contrary to the children's wishes. They are so named because, like a helicopter, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach whether their children need them or not.”

There’s little doubt that, like the “Soccer Mom”, the “Helicopter Parent” has become a reality in modern American culture. My question is “why”? Before getting into some of the possible reasons, let me jump on a soapbox for a minute. I’m not sure if I am a helicopter parent or not, but I am a “Gen X-er”. Yes, the always maligned Generation X – growing up we were often labeled a “recessive” generation (as opposed to the “dominant” Baby Boomers), not to mention “latch-key”, “fatherless”, “depressed”, “jaded”, and on and on. Well, now we’ve got a new label because it turns out that Generation X-er parents are apparently too attentive… OK, off the soapbox.

So, how was the helicopter parent born? Here are some possibilities:

· The world has become a much darker place – thus the need for a more watchful eye over our kids?

· The world has become a little bit darker, but the constant influence of media has us scared out of our wits, causing us to be fearful and suspicious of everyone, all the time?

· “PC” peer pressure – you are looked at as a bad parent if your child rides a bike without a helmet, knee pads, and a large pillow strapped around his torso.

· We are in some way “empty”, and we’re trying to live vicariously through our kids?

· In an era of global terrorism and ever-rising gas prices, we have the need to feel like we can exercise control over something – in this case the environment of our kids?

What, if anything, would God have to say to helicopter parents?

What do you think?

While you think about the finer points of helicopter parents, you can try this link to the highly-addictive Helicopter Game: www.helicoptergame.net