Before you become a parent, you very likely have an idea of the type of parent you'll be. But then you have a kid, and discover just how many different types of parents there are! Parenting is far from one-dimensional, and everyone does it there own way. There are free range parents and tiger moms. Helicopter parents and unicorn moms. Who knew there were so many different ways to do this mom thing?!

The bottom line is, you're going to raise your kids the way you see fit, in a way that works for you. And there's no right or wrong way, as long as your kids are healthy and happy! However, some parenting types get a pretty bad rap. Take helicopter parents, for example. Those are the parents that hover over their kids, helping them with every activity and lesson and aspect of life. They push their kids and are super involved in their day-to-lives. Helicopter parents have a reputation for being overbearing, overprotective, and over-involved. But, as it turns out, these traits might help make their kids more successful.

There's some interesting new research from economists Matthias Doepke of Northwestern University and Fabrizio Zilibotti of Yale. They written a book called Love, Money and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids, and they feel that an intensive parenting style (think helicopter or tiger parenting) can lead to better outcomes for kids. To come to this conclusion, the researchers analyzed data from several studies and data sets. They used the results from the 2012 PISA (an international academic test for 15-year-olds), as well as a study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted in 1997. What they found was very interesting indeed.

Doepke and Zilibotti found that there was a correlation between teens who scored well on the PISA and parents who'd adopted a more intensive parenting style. Additionally, kids whose parents were considered more intense and involved were more likely to graduate from college and go on to get graduate degrees. But this isn't about parents being strict. Helicopter parents emphasis skills that that have proven to be helpful later in life, like adaptability and problem-solving.

The future success of your children depends on so many different factors, and the researchers here aren't laying it on the feet of intense helicopter parents. But for those parents who take a more authoritative, hands-on approach to parenting early on, the skills that make for successful adults are coded into their children at a very early age.

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