Episode
Episode 170: How To Handle The Concerning Shift From "Helicopter Parenting" To "Snow Plow Parenting"
- Published
- Jan 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2275
- Processing state
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Summary
I don’t like snowplows. When I see a snow plow, that means that the roads are snow covered. I don’t like driving on snowy roads, especially because of the hilly terrain where I live. There’s also another reason that I don’t like snow plows. For the 21 years that I was a Head of School, getting our school’s parking lot plowed always seemed to be a recurring source of stress. There is something that I like even less: “snowplow parenting.” Snow plow parents constantly try to clear the path for their child and remove every obstacle. I can’t believe that I am saying this, but I actually prefer “the good old days” when we mostly dealt with “helicopter parents.” In my experience, helicopter parents try to micro-manage problems, but snow plow parents try to completely eliminate problems. On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss How To Handle The Concerning Shift From "Helicopter Parenting" To "Snow Plow Parenting" I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference! Mark Minkus I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents” . We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week! Do you ever have “Teacher Drama” at your school? Gossip. A teacher coming…