Watch How You Hold That Crayon*

Last week we posted an article called 5 Clues You Might be a Helicopter Parent.

Clue #1 was “Have you hired a tutor to address your primary school student’s imperfect grasp of a number 2 pencil in anticipation of the many years of standardized testing to come?”  At the time, we knew that it was hyperbole; an exaggeration used to make a point.

Until this morning, when The New York Times published Watch How You Hold That Crayon.

The author cites 3-year-olds who hold crayons in their fists and kindergartners with poor penmanship, and says “ These days, many little fingers are being drilled. Twenty-five years ago, pediatric occupational therapists primarily served children with severe disabilities like spina bifida, autism or cerebral palsy. Nowadays, these therapists are just as focused on helping children without obvious disabilities to hold a pencil.”

Apparently, the latest trend in the affluent corners of America really is to hire pencil tutors!

We don’t even know what to say.  It’s worrisome when we can’t even exaggerate the silly things we parents do enough to launch them into the realm of the absurd.

Please read the article yourself and let us know what you think.  What’s next, Rosetta Stone for the unborn?