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up vote 9 down vote favorite

I have just finished watching the 3rd season of Lie to Me.

I am wonder whether there is a word for somebody who cares for his/her son/daughter/child too much, like Dr. Cal Lightman?

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Am I correct to assume this questions was not about Münchausen syndrome by proxy? – oosterwal Feb 21 '11 at 17:47
@oosterwal Horrifying.... Lightman is not a bad guy.... – user3812 Feb 22 '11 at 0:39
Jiang: I meant no offense. I'm not familiar with Dr. Lightman and the phrase 'cares for his/her son/daughter/child too much' is all-to-often associated with Münchausen. – oosterwal Feb 23 '11 at 0:18

4 Answers

up vote 12 down vote accepted

An entertaining neologism for this is helicopter mom or helicopter dad. (The implication is that the parent is "hovering" over their child at all times.)

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+1: a fun playful phrase, that’s caught on remarkably widely. – PLL Feb 19 '11 at 17:11
up vote 14 down vote

You could call such a parent over-protective. Sometimes such parents are called intrusive or smothering (in the sense that their habit of getting between a child and the real-life ups and downs of experience may stifle a child's emotional growth).

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1  
To tell the truth, I do not like your edit to my question.... because in the original question, it may get different versions of answers for sons and daughters.... – user3812 Feb 19 '11 at 12:02
2  
OK. I'll roll it back for you, but you should be aware that you can roll it back yourself as well whenever you see an edit of your material that you disagree with. – Robusto Feb 19 '11 at 12:41
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You should also be aware that you need a preposition after "cares" in that sentence: "for" or "about" would be appropriate. – Robusto Feb 19 '11 at 12:42
up vote 4 down vote

Overbearing

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up vote 2 down vote

One classic phrase is a 'doting parent'.

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1  
Yes, I was going to add "doting" myself, with a caveat: It has two senses - 1. overly parental, and 2. fondly caring. – The Raven Feb 22 '11 at 1:02

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