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I learnt a new Japanese term today! モンスターペアレント. What is a モンスターペアレント? Straight from the horse’s month at wikipedia.

モンスターペアレント (Monster parent) とは、学校に対して自己中心的で理不尽な要求を繰り返す保護者を意味する和製英語である。

It has a different name in English. I must admit, I didn’t know this term till today!

A helicopter parent is 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 also a special group of helicopter parents called “Black Hawks” for those who cross the line ^^. My parents didn’t watch over me like a hawk. Maybe they did from a distance. They only provided direction and guidance. I was always free to make and learn (if at all) from my mistakes. I was not always a good boy you see ^^. Of course, when I did make them, scolding and sometimes caning came after ><. You know what they say, “spare the rod and spoil the child”.

Anyway, the reason I brought this up is because there’s this new drama, モンスターペアレント, that started today. At first I thought it was a documentary! Imagine my surprise when I found out it was a drama! The protagonist is a high-flying corporate lawyer. No, she’s not the monster parent. She’s the shield that protects the school from the monster parents. Imagine a parent complaining “why are there so few photos of my kid in the school magazine?”. Are you one such parent? The first episode was quite interesting. Next week’s preview got me all fired up! Looks like it’s going up on my “to watch” list ^^.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under drama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.